I know it is a little late for a(nother) New Year's Resolution, but I have been inspired by the efforts of my friend Rohan Maitzen, picking up Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy over at Novel Readings. It is time for me to take another run at Marcel Proust. But, this time, I'll accept some help. I recently bought Patrick Alexander's "reader's guide" to In Search Of Lost Time. "Except for those fortunate enough to spend several years confined to a hospital bed or a federal prison, or to be stranded on a desert island with their preselected library," Alexander warns, "few modern readers have the time to tackle a novel with more than three thousand pages, a million and a half words, and more than four hundred individual characters." I know my work is cut out for me.
When I teach James Joyce, I always assign as a companion Harry Blamires' The New Bloomsday Book. But when I first read Ulysses, I used a comprehensive gloss, so I do not have a lot of first-hand experience with the kind of book meant, specifically, for the terrified reader facing a huge obstacle. Well, this time, I have an obstacle, and I certainly still have the terror.
I will let you know how I do.
Nice going--your pick is likely to overwhelm any competition, including Moby Dick and Clarissa. I am surprised how much I like having something slow and steady to go back to at the end of a hectic day. I have never read Proust and am not likely to do so any time soon, so I'll enjoy it vicariously through you.
Posted by: Rohan Maitzen | February 04, 2010 at 06:33 PM