Marcel Proust's Search for Lost Time: A Reader's Guide

by Patrick Alexander

‘Marcel Proust’s Search for Lost Time’ contains a full synopsis of the seven-volume novel, a description of fifty major characters, a biography of Proust and descriptions of the historical setting.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literature, Reference, Literary Criticism, Books About Books, Criticism, Literary Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2007

Reviews

[Sean Kottke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could be considered a weightier, better-written Cliff's Notes to Proust, but I found it an indispensable companion for my reading of In Search of Lost Time, given the fifteen year time span that it took me to read it and the complexity of Proust's project of writing an essay in the form of a novel :) It was helpful for validating my impressions of the big ideas in each segment of the book and refreshing my memory of characters' identities, biographies and relationships. The historical context essays on French history, the Belle Époque and the Dreyfus Affair were also superb for filling in the considerable gaps in my European history education. Unless you have the opportunity to read this novel in the company of a Proust scholar or social network to help digest the epic seven course meal that is In Search of Lost Time, this is an essential literary Sherpa.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great, non-academic guide to Proust. The book summaries, character descriptions, and background information are presented in clear language and logical order designed for the "readers" of Proust rather than for "researchers".

After second read:

Confirmed in my opinion that this book is a great support for Proust without having to become a Proust-scholar to understand it.

Having gone through the book twice now, I feel well-prepared for the 2013 year of reading Proust. Will also be looking at additional references to supplement Alexander's work.

[Petra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this companion read to Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. I would read a book by Proust, read the chapter in Patrick Alexander's book, etc. If I lost track of a character, I'd check the character list in this book. After finishing Proust, I read the sections on the history of France at the time of Proust, the Dreyfus Affair and Paris in the time of Proust.

This is an interesting and informative addition to reading Proust.

[Braden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure why this book was written. It comes off as a slightly heftier Cliff's Notes version of In Search of Lost Time, with the bulk of the pages devoted to plot synopses and character descriptions. To devote so much space to the plot and characters of Proust is to miss the point entirely. While this might be useful as a bedside reference to help sort out the numerous characters in Proust (and for that reason I gave it two stars instead of less), it falls far short of the ground covered in works such as Proust's Way: A Field Guide to In Search of Lost Time that actually put effort into analysis of the text and not merely synopsis.

For Proust enthusiasts, don't bother. Much of the reference material in this volume can be found in the appendices of the Modern Library edition of In Search of Lost Time, anyway. For those looking for a quick introduction to Proust, this might be useful but again, it overlooks so much of what makes Proust so amazing that it is almost detrimental to Alexander's stated purpose of wanting to popularize Proust.

[Aron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since reading Proust can take years, this guide provides a useful summary of the books and characters which can serve as a "refresher" between books. I am just about to start book 4, and it's been months since I finished book 3, so the book summaries were a good reminder of "the story thus far.".

The short biography and background chapters are also useful. On the whole, though, there aren't any great or even new insights here. Mary Ann Caws book covers most of the same info found in these background chapters with more useful insights and fantastic illustrations.

I'm still waiting for the annotated Proust or something like Ulysses Seen (I realize there is a graphic novel version, but Ulysses Seen is also annotated).

Update: reread this as a few years have passed since I finished book 4! I added a star since I found it quite a useful refresher. Also, having gotten further a long, I found the review helped give a deeper understanding of what Proust is trying to accomplish in these novels.

Now back to The Fugitive!

[diario_de_um_leitor_pjv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Óptimo guia para fazer a leitura de "Em busca do tempo perdido". Além de uma interessante problematização de cada volume, e dentro destes de cada parte do romance, esta obra tem uma longa secção - cerca de 200 páginas - que apresenta cada uma das inúmeras personagens do romance de Proust.
Por fim tem um conjunto de capítulos muito adequados com a conexão histórica e geográfica da obra, do tempo e dos territórios de Proust.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the more accessible Proust guides I've read, and there have been a few! A comprehensive summary with commentary on meaning and things to look for. I think this book is especially helpful to those already reading who maybe needed a rest between books and so need a reminder of where things are up to and where they've come from. Very easy to read.

[Michael Huang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suppose that the many books about Proust’s “In Search..” are quite similar in nature. But I bought this in the depth of my “desperation” and it paid off instantly. I was on “Captive” and it’s already fraying my patience and then “Fugitive” came. There is some initial excitement in the plot, but it quickly reverted back to the nerve-racking monotony of 100 pages after 100 pages of laundry list of same manifestation of jealousy. “What is wrong with people calling this the best literature there ever was” I thought to myself. That quickly turned into “What is wrong with me not getting an obvious gem of literature”. I decided to get help. When Alexander’s book came, I flipped directly to the part on Captive and this is the beginning:

The next two volumes, “The Captive” and “The Fugitive”, are the most difficult and least satisfactory of all seven volumes.

It went on to explain that they were unfinished when Proust died and thus hadn’t gotten the polish yet. It is also Proust at his most neurotic annoying. And that the reader is tempted to throw down the book and say “Enough already! Get over it”. That was almost exactly my thought. After this confirmation that I’m not crazy, it’s such a relief. And subsequently, I started skimming the rest of Fugitive. I’m so glad when Time Regained turned out to be perhaps best of the volumes.

After finishing Proust, a read through Alexander’s book shows numerous little things that I missed. And it prods me to start the 2nd reading of “In Search...” rather soon. Beside, the little historical background, anecdotes, and pointers to other related books are all positives.

Overall, it’s a good guidebook to keep around.

[Chris Flick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish that I had read this before I read The Remembrance of Things Past. The author provides an excellent summary of the plot, as well as detailed descriptions of each character, and insight into Proust's Paris and the relationship of his book to French history. Now I want to go back and read The Remembrance of Things Past again.

[Robert Nolin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this absolutely essential to getting through Lost Time without missing the important points. What I'd like to see (though it would be enormous) would be an annotated version, with Proust on the verso, notes on the recto.

[Dolf van der Haven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good companion to reading Marcel Proust’s masterpiece A la recherche du tempt perdu. It has lengthy summaries of all novels in the series, descriptions of the major characters and provides background to Proust himself and the political, social and cultural context in which the books are set. More analysis and less summary would be welcome to make this a better book. Still, highly recommended for the Proust fans.

[Ann Otto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before attempting Marcel Proust's The Remembrance of Things Past, I decided to do some research. I started with William Carter's biography, Marcel Proust (previously reviewed), and just finished Patrick Alexander's Reader's Guide. There are many guides to Proust's work, but Alexander's is basically a companion to the three-volume Remembrance of Things Past as all are published by Random House Vintage Books. Many current and past authors consider Proust's work the best novel ever written-so a must read for any reader or writer. But at more than 3,000 pages, and with more than 400 characters, one needs a guide. Alexander suggests other guides, including the popular Proust's Way by Roger Shattuck. I'll probably refer to that also before I'm finished with Remembrance. Alexander's book is well organized with synopses for the entire book by sections, a review of main characters, the locations of importance in the book, and the historical events and culture of the period. He recommends other sources for understanding the art, music, and written works referred to in the novel.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was simply a very very very very long Cliff's Notes. It would be helpful as a reference guide, but since it is titled a reader's guide I thought it was going to offer helpful insight as I made my way through Proust's enormous and somewhat treacherous text. Rather, it gave boring summaries of everything I just read, including very lengthy (often whole page) quotes. I just read it, so why would I want to read it again here? The best section was a historical guide to Proust's Paris, including sexuality at the time and the importance of the Dreyfus case. Had more of the book been devoted to this it would have merited more stars, and its title as a true reader's guide.

[Ani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful reference for those like me who keep forgetting who's who and miss things because they lose track of what is going on by the time they get to the end of one of Proust's long sentences. If I was able to maintain focus and read all of Remembrance of Things Past consecutively, maybe I wouldn't need such a guide. But If you're like me and tackle the novels with significant time in-between, then the character outlines, plot synopsis, contextual points and suggestions for further reading in this guide are invaluable. Very easy to digest.

[Devon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright as a reference for overview of the plot and biographical info on Proust. Stylistically quite bad though, and I didn't agree with Alexander about which parts of the novel were most compelling and which were boring. Also, horrible as a reading companion if you are reading the novel for the first time, as there are huge spoilers the whole way along... DO NOT READ WITHOUT COMPLETING THE NOVEL

[Richard S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Proust is the last of the great writers I have struggled with, and having given up several times, I turned to this guide book for help. So far it seems to be working as I'm 120 pages into Proust and surviving. This book has been very helpful, particularly getting through the Overture. I thought it would be full of spoilers (which was why I resisted this approach) but in fact it is not. Anyway if you can't get through or get started with Proust I highly recommend this book.

[Erik Eckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book an indispensable guide to all seven volumes of Proust’s work. Whether I was seeking background information on sites, refreshing my memory as to the importance or details of different characters or filling knowledge gaps regarding turn of the century Paris and the Dreyfus Affair, this Reader’s Guide added much to my understanding and enjoyment of each novel. I highly recommend this guide as an accompaniment for everyone from casual readers to scholars.

[Lynne-marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful to a total newcomer to Proust, and the Character guide a definite plus as one wends one's way through the great work, but as to content, not so hot.

[Travis Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, indispensable and accessible companion guide to The Remembrance of Things Past.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a meagre and badly written guide to Proust that, in spite of eventually being put out by Vintage (historically the major publisher of the Recherche in English), repeatedly betrays its origins as a self-published book.

Patrick Alexander is a big fan of Proust and wants to at least make people aware of the plot of the Recherche and the whole Belle Époque world it came out of, even if he feels that in our modern world few will find time to actually read the whole thing. This book therefore offers summaries of each part of each volume of the Recherche. Additionally there are chapters on the background to the work, i.e. Proust’s biography and family tree, and the political and social events affecting France between the 1870s and World War I. These chapters are badly written and repetitive, sounding much like a high-school or undergraduate paper.

Alexander commits factual errors like, in a discussion of Proust’s drug-taking, the claim that valerian (a mild sedative, still popular in parts of Europe for insomnia or anxiety) is a “powerful hallucinogen”. Moreover, even the Vintage reprint of this book contains errors like sentences with no verb or other grammatical quirks, suggesting it got little attention from an editor as one would expect from such an august publisher. All in all, this book is not competitive with even free internet resources on Proust and is not worth your while.

[Michael Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took almost as long to read as the original. I'm joking of course, but I did spend a long time lingering over what it had to offer. It sets us up in Proust's world. Then, goes into a detailed summary of each of the seven volumes of the English translation, many parts of which I seemed to have glossed over on first reading years ago (spending something like six months doing so). Of course, the one that wakes us up to what's really happening is volume 7, Time Regained. The summaries are followed by bits on the huge cast of characters wherein the author tells us trying to discover the originals in life of the people behind Proust's creations does a disservice to the great writer's abilities, also according to himself, then proceeds to do just, but it's all fine and good. Part 3 goes into details of the Belle Époque, the Dreyfuss Affair, and other eras of French history. All in all, a well-rounded exegesis of one of the great novels in history, one that brought back many details I had forgotten I once knew, and some I had forgotten entirely.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, and provided some context as well as the idea that things said in one part of the book recur later with more meaning (so you need to pay attention). I might have to take it out of the library again if I ever try to read Lost Time again. His summary of the story reminds me why I only liked the first and last volumes, though.

[Matt Carton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy (and necessary) companion to reading Proust. While I am not sure I agree with Alexander that ISoLT is a "comic masterpiece," his breakdown of history, characters, and Proust himself is thorough. Thankfully, he followed the Scott Moncrieff/Kilmartin translation.

[James Klagge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful for keeping people and things straight, but not particularly insightful.

[Graham McGrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

Devoid of insight

[Holly Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a reading guide for Proust-this is it.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good companion to the novel series, offering section summaries and overviews as well as essays on key themes

[Antonious Yasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب رائع

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to Proust's masterwork. The author hopes that his synopsis will stimulate the reader to start reading the full version. I will try.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good companion. Nice biographical information. Good further reading list.