It's always amazing for me as a french that Proust could be so appreciate in others country even in translations, certainly some kind of deep power of the book. No one put his own life as far as him in his writing, isolate, hard night worker, never satisfied, always try in to push further the meaning and style together.
after five years of reading proust, I've become fond of the book and its characters as much as the time I had spent reading them, which in a way parallels Proust's view that books serve as "calendars" to life
Just for what it's worth, this doesn't reflect at all my experience with Proust -- but I'm sure that merely illustrates the manifold angles of this incredible writer. (To me, the kind of stuff these guys are talking about -- aristocratic ironies, jealousy and petty hatreds -- is what kept me from reading it in the first place, and I found very little of it. I'm probably just picking up on different things, and certainly the speakers here are marvelous critics. But for me it's the most exciting and passionate writing I've ever read. There's no sense of 'minutiae' -- and there's a very definite and sharp form. I enjoy Ferramte and the Knausser but I can't emphasize how different Proust is from them. The seven volumes go from richness to loss and back again. There's a scene where he has a panic attack in Venice, and it is the most accurate rendition of this quintessentially millennial experience I've ever encountered. What it's really about is the question of sexual identity in our age of social media. In any case, for sure, not enough people read him!)
I have recently encountered the author in cyberspace. I'm 71 so my generation only had library space and I must have skipped through the P's on my way from Hemingway to Welty. Thanks for encouraging a reading of Proust in your earthy appraisal.
A bit surprised by this - apparently done by people who make a living out of writers like Proust. To me reading Proust is to abandon oneself to the world he created, with the sound/smell and wonderfully drawn vivid characters from a bygone era, not to judge by the present conventions or to interpret from ones narrow perspectives. If Proust did not know what love is, the speaker knows much less!
I have read numerous times that Elstir was based to a large part on Whistler, or on a combination of several artists, but I don't think Monet was ever mentioned in that connection. Btw, Mr Burnham, Mme Verdurin marries the Prince de Guermantes, not the Duc of the same name. Gide was on the editorial board of the Nouvelle Revue Française, and rejected the book, the first volume being published at Proust's expense by Bernard Grasset. Gide then realised his mistake, and begged to take over publication for the NRF, and Grasset, I believe, was bought out of his contract with Proust, or graciously relinquished it.
So, if Proust hadn't been able to afford to publish privately, would the book ever have been seen by the public? Chances are, after he died the 'removal men' would have dumped all his papers on the skip. One wonders how many great woks may have met this fate.
@@stephenhogg6154 Yes, the NRF was his editor, and the date of Goncourt price is a fact : 1919 for : "A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs" , he die in 1922.
Reading a book beautifully written is a wonderful experience but each interprets meaning unique to him or herself. I am think it is fantastic that people get together like this and discuss how the work may have revealed both truth and pleasure in their lives. I tried to read Proust but could not. He is ponderous and has self 乁( •_• )ㄏpreoccupations that require enormous energy to withstand, especially being so introspective and personal. I love that he wrote the tome but for moi, it is more enjoyable to hear others thoughts on it. As a young person, I came upon his famous photo and perceived him as being worth listening to. Even at 15 I felt that it was inappropriate for a young lady to be interested in such, for lack of a better word, 'meanderings'. Indeed, in his lovely, intelligent portrait, l can today see a definite touch of the Louche. He can ✍️ and really went all in to express his personal emotive and human perceptions and responses in an engaging manner, that many admire! And his evocations of the past, so reflective that one must be impressed and moved greatly 👁️
Fine métaphore with Bach for me it will be more about Brahms, question of taste, symphonie, in the introduction you can feel the ending and between all parts are perfectly woven.
“The flaws of Proust’s book are enormous and innumerable-a gold mine of defects. His duel with Time, based on an exaggerated, naive faith in the power of art-this is the professional mysticism of a crazed aesthete and artist. His psychological analyses could drag out into infinity, for they are only an embroidering on observations-they are not exploratory, they lack a fundamental revelation of the world, they have not come from a single penetrating look, they have not come from a vision, they are only the minutely detailed work of the (uninspired) intellect.” Excerpt From: Witold Gombrowicz. “Diary”. Apple Books.
Well he is wrong. Proust is food for the soul. The soul is moved by the power of art. We need food for the soul as we need food for the body. Proust nourishes our soul.
I've never read a word of Proust. I intend to sample it someday for the beautiful language which I've heard praised. But from the discussion, it sounds like the character Marcel tortures himself constantly. That doesn't sound healthy or inviting.
I have a painting that is probably done by Marcel Proust, it has been in my French family for decades and I wonder if art by Marcel would have some value. Anyone?
you'd need documentation or other evidence, like verification of the signature. The art world can get very picky about these things, some will even be downright rude if you try to present work as Proust's without it.
@@squirlmy I am not sure it’s from his hand, the signature says “M Proust” and there is a title on the back of the painting written in the French language. My family is from France and this painting has been in the family since I can remember. I will try and find someone who can confirm the signature.
She is a demimondaine .. . no she's not a hooker but she lives on money given to her by men she sleeps with. Swann behaves SO badly by being possessive, but it is funny.
Let's be frank. Few serious readers, meaning those who have made a point of reading the other great masterpieces of Western Literature, will read this lengthy slog of turgid prose no matter how well written (perhaps it's easier in French). I've known several lovers of good books who tried but never made it past Swann's Way. And the length and writing style aside, this turn of the previous century portrait of French upper classes as seen through the eyes of a neurotic has little appeal for 21st century readers, at least to endure it for over 2000 pages. These chaps here in this clip trying to make you think it's easy or all that relevant are full of it.
It's always amazing for me as a french that Proust could be so appreciate in others country even in translations, certainly some kind of deep power of the book. No one put his own life as far as him in his writing, isolate, hard night worker, never satisfied, always try in to push further the meaning and style together.
Blew my ear drums out with the intro
Damn right I did
This whole lecture is a banger, not just the start
Party
I love André Aciman novels so much that I’m going on a quest to find books and songs he mention.
same! hahahah i just read a NYT article on all his books he recommend, and his opinions on canonical works like dostoevsky and woolf
@@blue---monday is it possible to include a link or reference for that article? Thank you
Everyone author I read I found on Reddit under “authors like Andre caiman” and none have failed me yet
Ahhhh!! Rehearsing the pain before it happened. This was in Call Me By Your Name.
Great observation!
Also in the mood for love
after five years of reading proust, I've become fond of the book and its characters as much as the time I had spent reading them, which in a way parallels Proust's view that books serve as "calendars" to life
instablaster...
Just for what it's worth, this doesn't reflect at all my experience with Proust -- but I'm sure that merely illustrates the manifold angles of this incredible writer. (To me, the kind of stuff these guys are talking about -- aristocratic ironies, jealousy and petty hatreds -- is what kept me from reading it in the first place, and I found very little of it. I'm probably just picking up on different things, and certainly the speakers here are marvelous critics. But for me it's the most exciting and passionate writing I've ever read. There's no sense of 'minutiae' -- and there's a very definite and sharp form. I enjoy Ferramte and the Knausser but I can't emphasize how different Proust is from them.
The seven volumes go from richness to loss and back again. There's a scene where he has a panic attack in Venice, and it is the most accurate rendition of this quintessentially millennial experience I've ever encountered. What it's really about is the question of sexual identity in our age of social media. In any case, for sure, not enough people read him!)
I have recently encountered the author in cyberspace. I'm 71 so my generation only had library space and I must have skipped through the P's on my way from Hemingway to Welty. Thanks for encouraging a reading of Proust in your earthy appraisal.
OMG. I just discovered the title for my book in progress: This is Nothing Like Proust
Thank you Professor.
One of the best reflexions about Proust meaning and style whith the one of Marguerite Duras, great french writer.
A bit surprised by this - apparently done by people who make a living out of writers like Proust. To me reading Proust is to abandon oneself to the world he created, with the sound/smell and wonderfully drawn vivid characters from a bygone era, not to judge by the present conventions or to interpret from ones narrow perspectives. If Proust did not know what love is, the speaker knows much less!
love Proust and enjoyed this interview
Very enjoyable...insightful and absorbing, thank you for sharing.
Thank you for uploading this.
I have read numerous times that Elstir was based to a large part on Whistler, or on a combination of several artists, but I don't think Monet was ever mentioned in that connection. Btw, Mr Burnham, Mme Verdurin marries the Prince de Guermantes, not the Duc of the same name. Gide was on the editorial board of the Nouvelle Revue Française, and rejected the book, the first volume being published at Proust's expense by Bernard Grasset. Gide then realised his mistake, and begged to take over publication for the NRF, and Grasset, I believe, was bought out of his contract with Proust, or graciously relinquished it.
Time, which changes people, does not alter the image we have retained of them.
In Search of Lost Time❤️
Simultaneously great and incredibly frustrating. An endless, serpentine description of futile human desire.
So, if Proust hadn't been able to afford to publish privately, would the book ever have been seen by the public? Chances are, after he died the 'removal men' would have dumped all his papers on the skip. One wonders how many great woks may have met this fate.
Proust begin to be officialy editing during the end of his life and even won "le prix Goncourt", the greatest French literary price.
@@Methilde Was this a result of his book being published?
@@stephenhogg6154 Yes, the NRF was his editor, and the date of Goncourt price is a fact : 1919 for : "A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs" , he die in 1922.
Reading a book beautifully written is a wonderful experience but each interprets meaning unique to him or herself. I am think it is fantastic that people get together like this and discuss how the work may have revealed both truth and pleasure in their lives. I tried to read Proust but could not. He is ponderous and has self 乁( •_• )ㄏpreoccupations that require enormous energy to withstand, especially being so introspective and personal. I love that he wrote the tome but for moi, it is more enjoyable to hear others thoughts on it. As a young person, I came upon his famous photo and perceived him as being worth listening to. Even at 15 I felt that it was inappropriate for a young lady to be interested in such, for lack of a better word, 'meanderings'. Indeed, in his lovely, intelligent portrait, l can today see a definite touch of the Louche. He can ✍️ and really went all in to express his personal emotive and human perceptions and responses in an engaging manner, that many admire! And his evocations of the past, so reflective that one must be impressed and moved greatly 👁️
Beautiful thank you for this.
Fine métaphore with Bach for me it will be more about Brahms, question of taste, symphonie, in the introduction you can feel the ending and between all parts are perfectly woven.
The first five minutes are very good.
Brilliant insights!
Great intro to Proust, but by 8:12 I've become convinced that the camera man is actually a boy from the AVClub where he teaches the high school class.
Can you find a high school in all of the US where Proust is even mentioned?
Proust seems to want what he can’t have. Besides the madeleines of course
Better read it from the begining the first time and after could jump from one part to another all your life.
Why is the intro so loud?
To prepare you for the existential pain of reading Proust?
I might have missed something but how were the pronouns used incorrectly by Moncrieff?
pollon(?) falling on the chest? bad symbolism, I didn't get this part, can anyone explain, please? thanks!
Semen.
Y Griffiny 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
Can’t hear it
“The flaws of Proust’s book are enormous and innumerable-a gold mine of defects. His duel with Time, based on an exaggerated, naive faith in the power of art-this is the professional mysticism of a crazed aesthete and artist. His psychological analyses could drag out into infinity, for they are only an embroidering on observations-they are not exploratory, they lack a fundamental revelation of the world, they have not come from a single penetrating look, they have not come from a vision, they are only the minutely detailed work of the (uninspired) intellect.”
Excerpt From: Witold Gombrowicz. “Diary”. Apple Books.
Well he is wrong. Proust is food for the soul. The soul is moved by the power of art. We need food for the soul as we need food for the body. Proust nourishes our soul.
@@USACubana You explained it beautifully
Astute observation and thanks much for the quote. Quite en pointe
Naive faith in power of art, crazed aesthete… those sounds great to me! 😅
First encounter with proust is today while watching the pacifier 2 movie by denzel Washington
You mean "The Equalizer 2"? … hahaha
@@makellbird2634lol
okay!
I am an Aciman.
Proust's average sentences ? : 70 words !!
Was these memories of Proust fiction.....do we know?
Thank you! for saying it's about possession, not love. I find the novels fascinating but Marcel is not endearing.
When we read Proust, we are reading, what we already know 🎯
That was my thought, when I started reading Proust.
So what is the point of reading him?❓
I've never read a word of Proust. I intend to sample it someday for the beautiful language which I've heard praised. But from the discussion, it sounds like the character Marcel tortures himself constantly. That doesn't sound healthy or inviting.
I have a painting that is probably done by Marcel Proust, it has been in my French family for decades and I wonder if art by Marcel would have some value. Anyone?
have you found out something about it?
you'd need documentation or other evidence, like verification of the signature. The art world can get very picky about these things, some will even be downright rude if you try to present work as Proust's without it.
@@squirlmy I am not sure it’s from his hand, the signature says “M Proust” and there is a title on the back of the painting written in the French language. My family is from France and this painting has been in the family since I can remember. I will try and find someone who can confirm the signature.
@arthur wiebe Maybe I was trying to find the right audience by posting this on multiple Proust videos, use your brains!
Odette is NOT a hooker !!
She is a demimondaine .. . no she's not a hooker but she lives on money given to her by men she sleeps with. Swann behaves SO badly by being possessive, but it is funny.
Let's be frank. Few serious readers, meaning those who have made a point of reading the other great masterpieces of Western Literature, will read this lengthy slog of turgid prose no matter how well written (perhaps it's easier in French). I've known several lovers of good books who tried but never made it past Swann's Way. And the length and writing style aside, this turn of the previous century portrait of French upper classes as seen through the eyes of a neurotic has little appeal for 21st century readers, at least to endure it for over 2000 pages. These chaps here in this clip trying to make you think it's easy or all that relevant are full of it.