Why read Remembrance of Things Past?

Book cover of Remembrance of Things Past

Book description

From the French intellectual, novelist, essayist, and one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century: The first two volumes of his monumental achievement, Swann’s Way and Within a Budding Grove.

The famous overture to Swann's Way sets down the grand themes that govern In Search of Lost Time: as…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Remembrance of Things Past as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Ernest Hebert

Author

I didn’t come into contact with Remembrance of Things Past until I was in my late twenties—and was immediately turned off. I thought, what a windbag and slammed the book shut. Later, I gave it another try. Then another. I never did finish Swann's Way and the other novels in Remembrance of Things Past. And yet Proust remains not only a powerful influence on my writing, but a guide in the practice of good prose. What has stayed with me were Proust’s long gorgeous sentences. Any time my writing slackens, or my vision falters, I pick up Proust. I…

From Ernest's list on creating empathy and self-knowledge in readers.