Marcel Proust (1871-1922) spent the last fourteen years of his life writing A la recherche du temps perdu. It is an intimate epic, an excavation of the self, and a comedy of manners by turns and all at once. Proust is the twentieth century's Dante, presenting us with a unique, unsettling picture of ourselves as jealous lovers and unmitigated snobs, frittering our lives away, with only the hope of art as a possible salvation. He offers us a form of redemption for a sober and secular age. Scott Moncrieff's delightful translation was for many years the only access to Proust in English. A labour of love that took him nearly as many years as Proust spent writing the original. Moncrieff's translation strives to capture the extraordinary blend of muscular analysis with poetic reverie that typifies Proust's style. It remains a justly famous classic of translation.
Swann's Way
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A beautiful, atmospheric, and nostalgic work, Swann's Way is highly recommended for literary connoisseurs and public library audiobook collections. - --Library Bookwatch
And so it begins, it all begins yet again: Marcel Proust's inimitable and magnificent Remembrance of Things Past, probably the greatest of literary works of all time. Neville Jason has taken on the titanic task of reading the whole unabridged seven volumes for Naxos AudioBooks in a new and updated translation which simply means that no other reader can get close to him in his subtle and unique understanding of Proust. Swann's Way is perhaps the most fondly nostalgic of the seven novels and the inimitable descriptions of Marcel's youth are almost unbearable in their fantastic attention to detail. The village of Combray where the family holidayed is also a fantastic recreation of a past which is now gone and which will simply never return. Jason's reading is assured and full of style and a classic poise which makes him the ideal Proust reader. One waits with trepidation and eager anticipation for the next volume in this wonderful series. --Gerald Fenech, Malta News Online
As regular readers of Kirkville probably know, I'm a fan of Marcel Proust. I recently started re-reading A la recherche du temps perdu, but was sidetracked by moving house. Some time ago, I listened to the entire work, on a French audio recording. But not all Proustians are French speakers. Proust actually has quite a following in the US and England, and his popularity is such that Naxos AudioBooks has recently released the first part of a complete, unabridged recording of Remembrance of Things Past (also known as In Search of Lost Time). The narrator, Neville Jason, has one of those smooth, soft English accents that lulls and entrances you. His reading is leisurely and relaxed. He takes his time, allowing you to absorb the work comfortably, without speaking too slowly, as is sometimes the case on older audiobook readings. Jason's reading is a performance, but it also sounds like he's sitting by your side, reading from the book, like a friend. In addition, his French accent is quite good, and when he speaks the names of French people or towns, it sounds as it should. Swann s Way is more than 21 hours long, and is only the first of seven volumes of Remembrance of Things Past. Naxos AudioBooks will be releasing each volume individually, and will most likely offer a box set with the entire text - which will be more than 120 hours - when all the titles have been released. If you want to listen to Proust, and don't speak French, Neville Jason's recordings are excellent. For now, this is the only complete recording in the works. Simon Vance, who is also another wonderful narrator, has recorded Swann's Way, but it doesn t look like this will be a complete recording of all seven volumes of Remembrance of Things Past, as this recording was released in September, 2010, and no follow-up has yet been released. --Kirk McElhearn, Kirkville
Naxos, the renowned producer of classical music recordings, is publishing a complete and unabridged recording of Marcel Proust's epic work, Remembrance of Things Past (À la Recherche du Temps Perdu). The reader is Neville Jason, who the Washington Post called 'the marathon man' after his 70 hour recording of Tolstoy's War and Peace. Jason is well equipped to read this even longer work by Proust, having received the Sir John Gielgud prize for fiction while he was at RADA and having then gone on to perform with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Old Vic Company. Indeed, while reading an earlier abridged version of Proust, he did the abridgement himself and also translated the final volume (see article in AudioFile Magazine). The first volume al --Tom Cunliffe, A Common Reader
All seven volumes of Remembrance of Things Past, of which this is the first, represent a staggering recording feat: 150 hours of unabridged Proust read by 78-year-old Neville Jason. To Proust writing was like making jellied beef: every shred of his memory was used. Jason calls Proust's work his 'magic cord', woven to be launched into future time. For us Jason's voice is the magic cord that draws us inexorably in. --Rachel Redford, The Oldie --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
And so it begins, it all begins yet again: Marcel Proust's inimitable and magnificent Remembrance of Things Past, probably the greatest of literary works of all time. Neville Jason has taken on the titanic task of reading the whole unabridged seven volumes for Naxos AudioBooks in a new and updated translation which simply means that no other reader can get close to him in his subtle and unique understanding of Proust. Swann's Way is perhaps the most fondly nostalgic of the seven novels and the inimitable descriptions of Marcel's youth are almost unbearable in their fantastic attention to detail. The village of Combray where the family holidayed is also a fantastic recreation of a past which is now gone and which will simply never return. Jason's reading is assured and full of style and a classic poise which makes him the ideal Proust reader. One waits with trepidation and eager anticipation for the next volume in this wonderful series. --Gerald Fenech, Malta News Online
As regular readers of Kirkville probably know, I'm a fan of Marcel Proust. I recently started re-reading A la recherche du temps perdu, but was sidetracked by moving house. Some time ago, I listened to the entire work, on a French audio recording. But not all Proustians are French speakers. Proust actually has quite a following in the US and England, and his popularity is such that Naxos AudioBooks has recently released the first part of a complete, unabridged recording of Remembrance of Things Past (also known as In Search of Lost Time). The narrator, Neville Jason, has one of those smooth, soft English accents that lulls and entrances you. His reading is leisurely and relaxed. He takes his time, allowing you to absorb the work comfortably, without speaking too slowly, as is sometimes the case on older audiobook readings. Jason's reading is a performance, but it also sounds like he's sitting by your side, reading from the book, like a friend. In addition, his French accent is quite good, and when he speaks the names of French people or towns, it sounds as it should. Swann s Way is more than 21 hours long, and is only the first of seven volumes of Remembrance of Things Past. Naxos AudioBooks will be releasing each volume individually, and will most likely offer a box set with the entire text - which will be more than 120 hours - when all the titles have been released. If you want to listen to Proust, and don't speak French, Neville Jason's recordings are excellent. For now, this is the only complete recording in the works. Simon Vance, who is also another wonderful narrator, has recorded Swann's Way, but it doesn t look like this will be a complete recording of all seven volumes of Remembrance of Things Past, as this recording was released in September, 2010, and no follow-up has yet been released. --Kirk McElhearn, Kirkville
Naxos, the renowned producer of classical music recordings, is publishing a complete and unabridged recording of Marcel Proust's epic work, Remembrance of Things Past (À la Recherche du Temps Perdu). The reader is Neville Jason, who the Washington Post called 'the marathon man' after his 70 hour recording of Tolstoy's War and Peace. Jason is well equipped to read this even longer work by Proust, having received the Sir John Gielgud prize for fiction while he was at RADA and having then gone on to perform with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Old Vic Company. Indeed, while reading an earlier abridged version of Proust, he did the abridgement himself and also translated the final volume (see article in AudioFile Magazine). The first volume al --Tom Cunliffe, A Common Reader
All seven volumes of Remembrance of Things Past, of which this is the first, represent a staggering recording feat: 150 hours of unabridged Proust read by 78-year-old Neville Jason. To Proust writing was like making jellied beef: every shred of his memory was used. Jason calls Proust's work his 'magic cord', woven to be launched into future time. For us Jason's voice is the magic cord that draws us inexorably in. --Rachel Redford, The Oldie --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
245 of 259 people found the following review helpful
By C H Hall
Format:Kindle Edition
I am a great admirer of the Kindle device, having bought both v. 1 and v.2 immediately upon their introduction.
Unfortunately, though the device may earn 5 stars, Amazon's book marketing doesn't rate 1 star -- especially with regard to translated and out-of-copyright classics.
This book is a case in point. If one goes to the (hardcopy) book page in Amazon for the superb Lydia Davis translation, v. 1 in the Penguin series, one is offered a one-click link implying that the book can be ordered instantly for one's Kindle. Try it, though, and you'll find (as noted by the earlier reviewer) that you get not the Davis Penguin version, but rather a very different translation.
This is simply dishonest, and beneath Amazon. Amazon would never dream of sending to a hardcopy shopper ordering the Davis translation the one that is offered via Kindle. Why, then, try to fob off something like this to Kindle shoppers as though it were the Davis translation?
Readers are not stupid, and these types of shenannigans are no way to develop Kindle reader loyalty.
This needs to stop, now.
Unfortunately, though the device may earn 5 stars, Amazon's book marketing doesn't rate 1 star -- especially with regard to translated and out-of-copyright classics.
This book is a case in point. If one goes to the (hardcopy) book page in Amazon for the superb Lydia Davis translation, v. 1 in the Penguin series, one is offered a one-click link implying that the book can be ordered instantly for one's Kindle. Try it, though, and you'll find (as noted by the earlier reviewer) that you get not the Davis Penguin version, but rather a very different translation.
This is simply dishonest, and beneath Amazon. Amazon would never dream of sending to a hardcopy shopper ordering the Davis translation the one that is offered via Kindle. Why, then, try to fob off something like this to Kindle shoppers as though it were the Davis translation?
Readers are not stupid, and these types of shenannigans are no way to develop Kindle reader loyalty.
This needs to stop, now.
106 of 109 people found the following review helpful
By J. Lehman
Format:Kindle Edition
If you want to read Swann's Way and don't have the actual book, then DO NOT bother with *THIS* Kindle edition (the freebie). Instead, you might as well "splurge" on a $0.99 professionally created edition so that you'll get to read the real thing.
1) All accented letters are converted as question marks.
2) Indented text such as block quotes or lines of poetry were entirely dropped. Without the real book to compare, the blanks would've been inexplicable, annoying gaps in the narrative.
That's enough to make this freebie worth less than i paid for it.
I do find this edition useful as a companion to the actual book.
1) All accented letters are converted as question marks.
2) Indented text such as block quotes or lines of poetry were entirely dropped. Without the real book to compare, the blanks would've been inexplicable, annoying gaps in the narrative.
That's enough to make this freebie worth less than i paid for it.
I do find this edition useful as a companion to the actual book.
63 of 66 people found the following review helpful
By Daniel Ford
Format:Kindle Edition
This is the public-domain C K Scott Moncrieff translation from the 1920s. You can get it without cost from the Gutenberg Project. By no means should you pay money for it.
Far better you get the paperback of the Penguin edition translated by Lydia Davis: Swann's Way: In Search of Lost Time, Vol. 1 (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). Alternately, go for the much-improved Enright edition of the Scott Moncrieff translation: In Search of Lost Time: Volume 1, Swann's Way (Modern Library Classics) (v. 1). More about all this at ReadingProust dot com -- Dan Ford
Far better you get the paperback of the Penguin edition translated by Lydia Davis: Swann's Way: In Search of Lost Time, Vol. 1 (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). Alternately, go for the much-improved Enright edition of the Scott Moncrieff translation: In Search of Lost Time: Volume 1, Swann's Way (Modern Library Classics) (v. 1). More about all this at ReadingProust dot com -- Dan Ford
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
while tanning your body, enrich your mind
if you're going to read a book you might as well read a book that will give you something to think about. I recommend this book to every thinking person. Enjoy!
Published 1 month ago by mary pignatello
5.0 out of 5 stars
As great and important as it's reputed to be.
What is there to say about Proust except that he's endlessly readable. Dickens, Trollope, Proust -- all you need to read for the rest of your life.
Published 2 months ago by tooth fairy
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's Proust
Some don't get Proust but for me I think he's one of the greats of all time. A lot of words, a lot of reading but in the end it makes you feel as if you're in the story. Read more
Published 2 months ago by dreaming of the sun
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why am I reading Proust?
Q: Why is a cult leader and mind control author like me reading Marcel Proust?
A: To sound pretentious, of course! Read more
A: To sound pretentious, of course! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dantalion Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reading Swann's Way
This is a big and complex book. Having it on the Kindle made it much easier to take with me and read when time permitted. Read more
Published 4 months ago by sarabee
5.0 out of 5 stars
A magnificent achievement
Neville Jason's recording of Swann's Way is a revelation. One of the many pleasures of listening to it is to go back and read the passages one has just heard and see how under Mr. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Eumaeus
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not as ominous as I thought it was going to be
I have put off attempting the mighty Proust in favour of chic-lit and rom-coms lately. But I finally bit the bullet and was surprised to find it less challenging than I had... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Bookgirl
4.0 out of 5 stars
In Search of Memories and Experiences
More than a commentary on Swann's jealousy or M. Charlus's homosexuality or the frivolity of the Guermantes' sorties, Marcel Proust's monumental work In Search of Lost Time paints... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Leonard Seet
5.0 out of 5 stars
a classic, re-readable forever
looks like it's scanned copy of printed book, so sometimes pages are a bit crooked. i like that..
a great book to have handy when you're stuck waiting, can be reread many... Read more
a great book to have handy when you're stuck waiting, can be reread many... Read more
Published 12 months ago by K. Harrow
5.0 out of 5 stars
Audio CD of Swann's Way Read by Neville Jason
I have always wanted to read the entire unabridged 7 volumes of Proust "Remembrance of Things Past" (or "In Search of Lost Time" per other translations) but I just don't have the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Penny
