Remembrance of Things Past, Vol. 1 (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature) - Softcover

Marcel Proust

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1840221461 ISBN 13: 9781840221466

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 2006

Synopsis

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) spent the last fourteen years of his life writing A la recherche du temps perdu. It is an intimate epic, an excavation of the self, and a comedy of manners by turns and all at once. Proust is the twentieth century's Dante, presenting us with a unique, unsettling picture of ourselves as jealous lovers and unmitigated snobs, frittering our lives away, with only the hope of art as a possible salvation. He offers us a form of redemption for a sober and secular age. Scott Moncrieff's delightful translation was for many years the only access to Proust in English. A labour of love that took him nearly as many years as Proust spent writing the original. Moncrieff's translation strives to capture the extraordinary blend of muscular analysis with poetic reverie that typifies Proust's style. It remains a justly famous classic of translation.

About this title

About the Author

Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental novel À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time; earlier rendered as Remembrance of Things Past), published in seven parts between 1913 and 1927. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest authors.

Review

A beautiful, atmospheric, and nostalgic work, Swann's Way is highly recommended for literary connoisseurs and public library audiobook collections. - --Library Bookwatch

And so it begins, it all begins yet again: Marcel Proust's inimitable and magnificent Remembrance of Things Past, probably the greatest of literary works of all time. Neville Jason has taken on the titanic task of reading the whole unabridged seven volumes for Naxos AudioBooks in a new and updated translation which simply means that no other reader can get close to him in his subtle and unique understanding of Proust. Swann's Way is perhaps the most fondly nostalgic of the seven novels and the inimitable descriptions of Marcel's youth are almost unbearable in their fantastic attention to detail. The village of Combray where the family holidayed is also a fantastic recreation of a past which is now gone and which will simply never return. Jason's reading is assured and full of style and a classic poise which makes him the ideal Proust reader. One waits with trepidation and eager anticipation for the next volume in this wonderful series. --Gerald Fenech, Malta News Online

As regular readers of Kirkville probably know, I'm a fan of Marcel Proust. I recently started re-reading A la recherche du temps perdu, but was sidetracked by moving house. Some time ago, I listened to the entire work, on a French audio recording. But not all Proustians are French speakers. Proust actually has quite a following in the US and England, and his popularity is such that Naxos AudioBooks has recently released the first part of a complete, unabridged recording of Remembrance of Things Past (also known as In Search of Lost Time). The narrator, Neville Jason, has one of those smooth, soft English accents that lulls and entrances you. His reading is leisurely and relaxed. He takes his time, allowing you to absorb the work comfortably, without speaking too slowly, as is sometimes the case on older audiobook readings. Jason's reading is a performance, but it also sounds like he's sitting by your side, reading from the book, like a friend. In addition, his French accent is quite good, and when he speaks the names of French people or towns, it sounds as it should. Swann s Way is more than 21 hours long, and is only the first of seven volumes of Remembrance of Things Past. Naxos AudioBooks will be releasing each volume individually, and will most likely offer a box set with the entire text - which will be more than 120 hours - when all the titles have been released. If you want to listen to Proust, and don't speak French, Neville Jason's recordings are excellent. For now, this is the only complete recording in the works. Simon Vance, who is also another wonderful narrator, has recorded Swann's Way, but it doesn t look like this will be a complete recording of all seven volumes of Remembrance of Things Past, as this recording was released in September, 2010, and no follow-up has yet been released. --Kirk McElhearn, Kirkville

Naxos, the renowned producer of classical music recordings, is publishing a complete and unabridged recording of Marcel Proust's epic work, Remembrance of Things Past (À la Recherche du Temps Perdu). The reader is Neville Jason, who the Washington Post called 'the marathon man' after his 70 hour recording of Tolstoy's War and Peace. Jason is well equipped to read this even longer work by Proust, having received the Sir John Gielgud prize for fiction while he was at RADA and having then gone on to perform with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Old Vic Company. Indeed, while reading an earlier abridged version of Proust, he did the abridgement himself and also translated the final volume (see article in AudioFile Magazine). The first volume al --Tom Cunliffe, A Common Reader

All seven volumes of Remembrance of Things Past, of which this is the first, represent a staggering recording feat: 150 hours of unabridged Proust read by 78-year-old Neville Jason. To Proust writing was like making jellied beef: every shred of his memory was used. Jason calls Proust's work his 'magic cord', woven to be launched into future time. For us Jason's voice is the magic cord that draws us inexorably in. --Rachel Redford, The Oldie

Edition details

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1840221461
• ISBN 13: 9781840221466
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1360