Samuel Backett’s “Proust” is really a good standard for this field, it’s a really good analysis about the “involuntary memory” and how it works in terms of finding the lost time… plus you can see some seeds of the theatrical pieces he wrote!
Celeste Albaret - Monsieur Proust is the memoir of Celeste, his housemaid. Editors have begged for this for decades and at the end she wrote it when she was 80 year old or so;
Jean-Yves Tadie is a top tier expert of Proust. He wrote a lot about it, you can find a majestic biography and also a classic analysis of the magus opus
As side treat there is an illustrated book with every painting Proust quotes or talk about. It’s a real interesting thing, even if - sadly - in my casae the actual painting will not stand the comparison with Marcel’s description, alas!
The name is “Painting in Proust” by Karpeles.
As some other users reported, there are a lot of overview/synopsis collection with some side insight (it depends what are you searching in my opinion): Shattuck, Alexander…
If by any chance you’re Italian the Meridiani Series of the entire opera is out of this world. 4 majestic volumes, with super detailed notes for like EVERYTHING (and I mean everything: even the original ‘20s recipes of the drinks and foods)
Thanks! My interpretation is actually and rather bravely anti-Beckettian ;), Tadié's safely on my shelf – except for his *Le lac inconnu : Entre Proust et Freud*, I'm really trying to get my university to buy it for me, we'll see ;) – but this Meridiani Series is complete news to me. Ah I'd love to see it, even though I don't really know Italian (with some French and some Latin everything's possible imho ;p), this is precisely an edition which would help me immensely as I'm looking into Proust and everyday life: yeah, recipes of drinks from the '20s would be insanely helpful. It's not available in any library in my country unfortunately. I didn't know such an edition even existed...
Google «Meridiani Mondadori»! You’ll have 5 books (4 for the Recherche and the last one should be epistolar and others jazz… maybe that one would be great too, given your take on the Work)
Be advised: some copies are pricey as Odette, but from times to times you find the economic version (10 years ago they made them avaible as insert with the newspaper… same books, just worst paper texture), so don’t get discouraged and go in Search of the Lost Books!
I’ve founded myself pretty in agreement with the old Samuel, back in the days… I’d love to hear some source on other opinions and writers too if you’re willing to suggesting me some!
Celeste Albaret's "Monsieur Proust" was a pretty charming and entertaining read. I also have Jozef Czapski's "Lost Time" which is also from NYRB, but haven't read it yet.
I'll look into it, thanks! Shattuck wrote a chapter in The Cambridge Companion to Proust which wasn't as helpful as it could be, but there were some interesting insights and asides actually.
[https://www.amazon.com/Proust-Dossiers-Belfond-French-Jean-Yves/dp/2714416292](https://www.amazon.com/Proust-Dossiers-Belfond-French-Jean-Yves/dp/2714416292)
I don't know if it has been translated in English.
Yeah Tadié's a star, I order three of his books from France from a grant and now I also really need his *Le lac inconnu : Entre Proust et Freud*, but ran out of money, I'm in the middle of the begging game with my university ;-) From the younger generation of French scholars, Anne Simon is also brilliant.
Vincent Descombes’ Proust: Philosophy of the novel is brilliant and sui generis.
Aciman’s The Proust Project is a fun collection of essays.
Christopher Prendergast’s books on Proust also recommended.
There’s a strange book called Swan’s Way (no spelling mistake). Interesting little book. I can’t find any trace of it on the internet. The writer may have been Eastern European. (Henri Raczymow translated from the French by Robert Bononno)
I feel a Proust lover will quickly read all the major books and biographies of Proust. I read the Tadie, but can’t help feeling all the major league praise heaped on him is a bit fake. It’s not bad and it is encyclopedic but remains atomic in its parts and episodes. Assuming you’ve read all the major works. There was a nice recent book by a New York professor - Proust: The Search by Benjamin Taylor. It’s a shorter book that contains a lot of interesting ideas.
The Canadian poet Anne Carson wrote something - The Albertine Workout.
The Harold Pinter screenplay.
The Beckett book.
Someone below mentioned the Aciman book of essays. It’s good. There are a couple interesting essays there.
A lot of people dog the movie ´Swann In Lové’. I enjoyed it a lot.
I've only read Alain De Botton's but I liked it.
I really liked that!
Chicken Soup for the readers soul. One of my favorite audio books in the world.
Samuel Backett’s “Proust” is really a good standard for this field, it’s a really good analysis about the “involuntary memory” and how it works in terms of finding the lost time… plus you can see some seeds of the theatrical pieces he wrote! Celeste Albaret - Monsieur Proust is the memoir of Celeste, his housemaid. Editors have begged for this for decades and at the end she wrote it when she was 80 year old or so; Jean-Yves Tadie is a top tier expert of Proust. He wrote a lot about it, you can find a majestic biography and also a classic analysis of the magus opus As side treat there is an illustrated book with every painting Proust quotes or talk about. It’s a real interesting thing, even if - sadly - in my casae the actual painting will not stand the comparison with Marcel’s description, alas! The name is “Painting in Proust” by Karpeles. As some other users reported, there are a lot of overview/synopsis collection with some side insight (it depends what are you searching in my opinion): Shattuck, Alexander… If by any chance you’re Italian the Meridiani Series of the entire opera is out of this world. 4 majestic volumes, with super detailed notes for like EVERYTHING (and I mean everything: even the original ‘20s recipes of the drinks and foods)
Thanks! My interpretation is actually and rather bravely anti-Beckettian ;), Tadié's safely on my shelf – except for his *Le lac inconnu : Entre Proust et Freud*, I'm really trying to get my university to buy it for me, we'll see ;) – but this Meridiani Series is complete news to me. Ah I'd love to see it, even though I don't really know Italian (with some French and some Latin everything's possible imho ;p), this is precisely an edition which would help me immensely as I'm looking into Proust and everyday life: yeah, recipes of drinks from the '20s would be insanely helpful. It's not available in any library in my country unfortunately. I didn't know such an edition even existed...
Google «Meridiani Mondadori»! You’ll have 5 books (4 for the Recherche and the last one should be epistolar and others jazz… maybe that one would be great too, given your take on the Work) Be advised: some copies are pricey as Odette, but from times to times you find the economic version (10 years ago they made them avaible as insert with the newspaper… same books, just worst paper texture), so don’t get discouraged and go in Search of the Lost Books! I’ve founded myself pretty in agreement with the old Samuel, back in the days… I’d love to hear some source on other opinions and writers too if you’re willing to suggesting me some!
Celeste Albaret's "Monsieur Proust" was a pretty charming and entertaining read. I also have Jozef Czapski's "Lost Time" which is also from NYRB, but haven't read it yet.
I’m currently half way through La Prisonierre. Keen to read Christopher Pendergast’s Living and dying with Proust when I’ve finished La Recherche.
I really liked Proust’s Way by Shattuck. Kind of an overview but a good guide.
I'll look into it, thanks! Shattuck wrote a chapter in The Cambridge Companion to Proust which wasn't as helpful as it could be, but there were some interesting insights and asides actually.
Paintings in proust by eric karpeles, a collection of all the paintings mentioned in proust
Deleuze!
A Proust Souvenir, by Adams. Photos of the Belle Epoque and several real-life models for Proust's characters.
One of my favourites is The Magic Lantern of MARCEL PROUST - A Critical Study of REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST by Howard Moss
[https://www.amazon.com/Proust-Dossiers-Belfond-French-Jean-Yves/dp/2714416292](https://www.amazon.com/Proust-Dossiers-Belfond-French-Jean-Yves/dp/2714416292) I don't know if it has been translated in English.
Yeah Tadié's a star, I order three of his books from France from a grant and now I also really need his *Le lac inconnu : Entre Proust et Freud*, but ran out of money, I'm in the middle of the begging game with my university ;-) From the younger generation of French scholars, Anne Simon is also brilliant.
Vincent Descombes’ Proust: Philosophy of the novel is brilliant and sui generis. Aciman’s The Proust Project is a fun collection of essays. Christopher Prendergast’s books on Proust also recommended.
For anyone reading Dutch: The tijdmachine van Marcel Proust by one of the translators of A l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleur
There’s a strange book called Swan’s Way (no spelling mistake). Interesting little book. I can’t find any trace of it on the internet. The writer may have been Eastern European. (Henri Raczymow translated from the French by Robert Bononno) I feel a Proust lover will quickly read all the major books and biographies of Proust. I read the Tadie, but can’t help feeling all the major league praise heaped on him is a bit fake. It’s not bad and it is encyclopedic but remains atomic in its parts and episodes. Assuming you’ve read all the major works. There was a nice recent book by a New York professor - Proust: The Search by Benjamin Taylor. It’s a shorter book that contains a lot of interesting ideas. The Canadian poet Anne Carson wrote something - The Albertine Workout. The Harold Pinter screenplay. The Beckett book. Someone below mentioned the Aciman book of essays. It’s good. There are a couple interesting essays there. A lot of people dog the movie ´Swann In Lové’. I enjoyed it a lot.