Rating: 
Summary: The Ne Plus Ultra Of Literature
Review: I tend on the whole to be quite skeptical of the notion that one may with confidence posit any single creative work as the "greatest" of its genre, but with Proust's novel I am forced to make an exception; "Remembrance" is not simply the greatest achievement of 20th century French literature, but is, in my opinion, THE greatest literary work of all time, period. Yes, Mann is a master of irony, and yes, I grant that Musil's "Man Without Qualities" is a work of genius, but no work that I am aware of - not The Magic Mountain, not Doctor Faustus, not Moby Dick, not The Brothers Karamazov - can match Proust's novel for readability, for its' sheer richness of imagery, for the profound understanding of human nature, with all its weaknesses and contradictions, displayed in the pages of the book, for the beauty of its' prose (a beauty that comes across quite clearly even in translation), and for the vast terrain of ideas covered in the course of those 3,000+ pages of text. That Proust is so little read today (supposedly, only 15,000 copies of "Swann's Way" were sold last year in France, of all places) speaks poorly of our age, and it is impossible to take any living American writer (not excepting Thomas Pynchon) seriously after experiencing (for "reading" is not the appropriate term to use here) this masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Truth and Reality
Review: I first picked up the first volume way back in 1987, and now (2001, Oct), I finally finished the entire works. In the last book ("Time Regained") Proust lucidly laid out his philosophy of Truth and Reality. In doing so, he contrasted the traditional Plato's sense of objective-reality as "things in themselves", Truth as a notion independent of any human observation, to what will be the precursor of Modern Analytic Philosophy (of latter Wittgenstein's and American Pragmatism) in which reality and truth are defined as "things that are experienced". For Proust, reality and truth are embedded in the way we remember the past. What makes the church in Combray real, is my rememberance of it, and all of my sensation, emotion, and feeling that comes with that memory. This is an extremely radical view of reality and truth for his time, since it amounts to say that truth and reality are subjective, not objective. Proust, however, wanted to go further that this. He made the connection between reality/truth and arts. For him, arts is a unique way of remembering and experiencing the past. Only by remembering and conjuring all of your past memory of the past, can arts be borned.
Rating:
Summary: Rebuking Ontario
Review: You know, I read the reviews here and was surprised someone actually wrote, "don't confuse quantity with quality." This is rediculous. If you want authors who don't understand punctuation and grammatical agreement, try the trash of JOHN SAUL or STEVEN KING. They write books by the minute and make a fortune on crap. There are some authors, like Proust, who haven't written that much during their lives, but they convey everything in the small amounts they've left behind for us. When one compares contemporary writers to those in the past, we aren't evolving. What it shows is that we've moved backwards. Michael Godfrey
Rating:
Summary: Bewilderingly unique
Review: I'm afraid I cannot really quantify "A la recherche dutemps perdu" in terms of a star rating, although I have had togive it 5 stars because I couldn't submit my review otherwise! It took me the best part of two years to read Proust's magnum opus and the question I find myself asking is: was it time well spent? I'm really not sure, even two years later. The first and most important thing I will say is that the novel is unlike anything you will ever read, and Proust is totally unique among authors. If you thought Tolstoy or Eliot were insightful, Proust digs beneath another ten layers of motive and counter-motive to reveal his truths: there has never been a writer prepared to go to such exhaustive lengths. I'm still not sure exactly what the book is about, either. Nominally it is an exploration of the perception of time and its effects on the mind. Proust shines this light on his protagonist's early years and the high social circles he finds himself moving in. Some of the characters are memorably bizarre - principally the Baron de Charlus, whose incredible arrogance and self-deception will certainly provide the reader with a few surprises. ... Proust's other fascinations with lineage and place names may not be to every reader's tastes but are revealing insights into his incredible pedantry and appetite for minutiae. The writing itself is often astonishing - Proust's ideas about love, betrayal and jealousy are sometimes diametrically opposed to received wisdom, but when he concentrates his unmistakable genius on these themes it is hard not to agree with his reasoning, however cynical it may be. Overall, I wouldn't recommend "A la recherche du temps perdu" lightly. Many people won't get past the opening ruminations over the effects of Marcel missing his mother's goodnight kiss. However, for serious literary buffs it is a must. END
Rating:
Summary: This book will change your life
Review: "A la recherche du temps perdu" is not simply a book - it is an experience in time-travel. I read the first two volumes at the age of 22, and was overwhelmed by the density, complexity, and beauty of Proust's style (magnificent even in translation), but I could not appreciate the book's deeper emotional resonances because I had not lived long enough or loved intensely enough. Although I am only five years older now, I have suffered through two intense, beautiful, and sorrowful relationships, and these experiences have made rereading Proust one of the most rewarding activities I have ever engaged in. I am half-way through "Le Temps Retrouve" and look forward to starting the whole thing again as soon as I have finished this first reading. Even if you don't have the patience to read the entire cycle, at least read "Du Cote du Chez Swann/Swann's Way," which perfectly encapsulates the effects, styles, and themes of the entire work. If you have ever fallen in love, the section "Swann in Love" in this book will make you really think about this sensation. Proust's style may seem long-winded and pretentious at first, but once you become accustomed to it, you will realize that Proust's way of looking at the world seems to explain much that is mysterious in the human mind and heart. I have no words of praise high enough for this book. It will shock you into realizing how terrible and beautiful life really is, and how complex people are underneath the mask which we present to most other humans we encounter. The paintings of Vermeer (which play an important part in the novel) are the closest visual equivalent to this book - the sheer poetry of everyday existence is deftly and exquisitely communicated. Unlike many novels which are considered great because they deal explicitly with "great themes" - sex, death, and politics - "A la recherche du temps perdu" appears to the casual reader to be about nothing at all - a bunch of descriptions of ordinary phenomena or gossip about society figures - little more than a glorified soap opera. There is not a single word here that is not absolutely necessary, however, and the careful reader will note how many times crucial events happen for which the reader has been prepared by a seemingly trivial incident several hundred pages earlier. Somehow, this book recaptures the experience of being alive more fully than anything I have ever read, including the Bible! Read this book and I guarantee that you will not think the way you did before Proust came into your life.
Rating:
Summary: Rebuking Ontario
Review: You know, I read the reviews here and was surprised someone actually wrote, "don't confuse quantity with quality." This is rediculous. If you want authors who don't understand punctuation and grammatical agreement, try the trash of JOHN SAUL or STEVEN KING. They write books by the minute and make a fortune on crap. There are some authors, like Proust, who haven't written that much during their lives, but they convey everything in the small amounts they've left behind for us. When one compares contemporary writers to those in the past, we aren't evolving. What it shows is that we've moved backwards. Michael Godfrey
Rating: 
Summary: An Anthetical Take on Human Nature
Review: Reading the many reviews in praise of Proust's estremical opus, I must wonder if readers are confusing quantity with quality. Though one must admire Proust's sheer anthenticity, the work seems to rely more on the complexity of the narrative than it does the power of the actual writing. Much like Faulkner, Proust capitalizes on his sentuplative talent for description, which is admittedly stunning. Even in translation, Proust's prose retains is almost ethereal quality. However, Proust proselytize so long on everything from his childhood bed to his lover's eyes that any beauty in the language is lost. Once the reader has been stripped the illusion that skillful use of language must convey some profound insight, they are left to face the grim, hackneyed subject matter: once careless bon vivant realizes the emptiness of his ways. The work is not one of literature, but of self-flagellation.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece of masterpieces!
Review: I had been intrigued by Proust since early age, for one of my favourite books is Gold and Fizdale's "Misia" and his name crops up all the time in it. I bought the Scott Moncrieff's English version in Paris over ten years ago and I know that many soi-dissant more authoritative versions have come out eversince. Yet, a few years ago I read the version in French as organized by Jean-Yves Tadié -possibly the best known pundit on Proust's work to date- and I have to say Moncrieff's translation doesn't stray that far from the original. "A La Recherche" is to me the most important book in the history of literature. Compellingly philosophical, psychological, soul-searching and esthetic, no details of life go amiss. I am alternately moved, stirred and surprised at Proust's dexterity in describing the wide range of human emotions and the complexity of human interactions. He talks about art, love, jealousy, nostalgy, ambition, social climbing, politics and you cannot fail to empathise with his prose or finding new moot questions with each new reading of his work. His book is as relevant to life as life itself.
Rating:
Summary: wow!
Review: I just finished. This is the most amazing thing I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Prose like floating
Review: Since I don't read French, I don't know if the qualities of prose this book exhibits are Proust's or Moncrieff's. Probably a little of each. This story is an investment, but a rewarding one. A classic of the 20th Century.
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