How Proust Can Change Your Life: Part I

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Amy's Dusty BookShelf

Күн бұрын

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@jlind00 Жыл бұрын

Proust Letters can be bought used for just $5-$10. Your company & ramblings are a pleasure, Amy!

@Amysdustybookshelf Жыл бұрын

That is wonderful to know. Perhaps I will have to turn my attention to those letters later this year!

@docna117 2 жыл бұрын

Have just finished volume 4 and started vol 5. I found them easy to read inspite of all the comments to the contrary. I wasn’t frustrated by his long prolix sentences or the loose plot or the lack of a definite “ending” to each book. I decided at the outset I was going to ‘humour’ him and I began to enjoy the feeling of being a fly on the wall and sharing these ‘ confidences’ and often profound beautiful reflections of this long dead wonderful human being. I think this may have had something to do with my having read many of the works of Virginia Woolf and Henry James, Katherine Mansfield ( short stories) whose prose style comes closest to that of Proust. I even ended up looking for and reading Proust’s letters and some other related books. There was a lot of French history I learned from Proust thanks to Wikipedia and I looked up every little thing I didn’t understand including even how to pronounce some of the names (!)so the experience was immersive ( as in a vast ocean) to say the least. I really enjoyed it and just wanted to go on to the next book. It also helps with reading him if you know and love the impressionists and post impressionist art and have been used to poring over these for hours as a child as I did. He is like nothing I have ever read before and I have plumbed the depths of 17th,18th, 19th, 20 th century English literature ( all of Dickens, Austen, the Brontes, Trollope, Forster, Eliot, Gaskell, Hardy and too many to list)with some Stendhal, Zola, Balzac, lots of Dumas thrown in. But nothing approaches his prose style which is like impressionist art and what I call the impressionist composers like Debussy ! Certainly well worth the read! The fact that I clicked on this video indicates how anything to do with Proust now interests me. He is also not just philosophical he is laugh out loud funny in places. I love his unique, profound description of the people of his world, their customs even their petty foibles(!), particularly of his grandmother, Francois, Swann, Baron de Charlus, Duchess de Guermantes and really, all of his people who come so much alive in the course of 6 volumes. This is a journey like no other ! Take the plunge.

@PatrickLatini 5 жыл бұрын

I'm impressed by the fact that you went through this video without any cut/edition. That's impressive as well. Also, Interesting points about Alain's book.

@richardsonreads573 5 жыл бұрын

I really admire your commitment to this monumental work. My set of Proust sits on the shelf staring at me in a rather judgmental fashion. I have started reading it more than once. Each time I have made it about half way through the first volume and then I wander off to other books.

@Amysdustybookshelf 5 жыл бұрын

I think you really have to be in a certain state of mind to read Proust. I read Swann's Way in January 2018, and immediately tried to start Within A Budding Grove, but at the time I completely lost interest and couldn't do it. Now I seem to be in the perfect state of mind to really enjoy him. Maybe you'll be in the right mood for him again soon!

@BookishTexan 5 жыл бұрын

I admire your commitment to reading Proust. I can't go on to volumes 3&4 right now and its frustrating because I'm curious to know how Proust resolves the two "ways" that seem to make up the crux of the novel. I like the long sentences. There are other authors for whom this works -- Faulkner, Joyce, etc -- but I'm pretty sure that it isnt something that all writers can handle. There's a beauty in Proust's sentences that I dont think many writers can match.

@Amysdustybookshelf 5 жыл бұрын

Faulkner is still on my "I might read him someday" list. You're very right though, it's not something that most writers can handle. One of the things that I like about Proust's sentences is that they seems to describe the rhythm I feel in everyday life, much more than many other writers. Not to be cliché, but after reading a bit of Proust, a chilly morning walk across the Ottawa River reminds me a lot of what I've read.

@BookishTexan 5 жыл бұрын

@@Amysdustybookshelf I agree with what you say about the rhythm of his sentences. I suppose the writing style is akin to stream of consciousness, but it feels so much more natural and less self consciously arty than that of Joyce. I didnt really notice the length of the sentences as much as the length of the paragraphs and I think its is because, as you say, they have a natural rhythm.

@Fuliginosus 4 жыл бұрын

I've read Proust's book three times over the past twenty years, and it's by far the best novel I've ever come across. I agree with the idea that Proust is an exception when it comes to sentence length; it's not something everyone should attempt.

@ianwild66 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for such an articulate article on de Botton's book. Did you ever find out if de Botton's book was based on facts or supposition?

@BiblioAtlas 5 жыл бұрын

My first impression with Alain Du Bottom was from the Munk Debates he & Malcom Gladwell teamed up against Steven Pinker & Matt Ridley on. Some of Gladwell's arguments during that debate basically resulted in me re-shelving his books off of my TBR. Slightly illogical or some straw grasping happening there. Du Bottom's angle was better, but still couldn't hold a candle to the witty Mr. Pinker & his sidekick. It sounds like Du Bottom's book is a little weak in the factual department? It seems like he's trying to encourage the reading of these classics, which I completely support. Or he's stretching his arguments to appeal to the widest audience, again to encourage more reading. That's an interesting angle, 'authors into idols, subject matter over the treatment of it.' Both are fine I think. Getting all tangled up into arguing one over the other is like, the epitome of pretentiousness. But, like, not the cool kinda pretention. To use my very best 'Clueless' lingo :P Cher would be proud.🥂 ... gotta get that onto a bumper sticker! 😅 Awesome video, I'm looking forward to part 2! 💕

@DarkAngelEU 3 жыл бұрын

De Botton thinks he can inspire people to read and enjoy art just because he does and gives a rather Zizek-like description of those authors/artists, which boils down to only caring about facts when they help him making his point come across. He's rather one-dimensional and I wouldn't recommend anyone who sincerely respects art or culture in any way to be influenced by the likes of him. He should be called a critic or aficionado but definitely not a philosopher. That's like saying every guy with an opinion is a philosopher lol