The Cambridge Companion to Proust (Cambridge Companions to Literature) (Paperback)

by Richard Bales (Editor) "A la recherche du temps perdu spans the period in France between the 1870s and the years of the 1914-18 war, together with an ill-defined..." (more)
Key Phrases: sequential selves, les lys, des jeunes filles, Marcel Proust, Mme Verdurin, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...the panoramic view of approaches that it offers is valuable...the collection will be most useful for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students who have read some Proust and seek a critical overview of the major topics and themes in Prouse scholarship." CHOICE

Product Description
The Cambridge Companion to Proust provides a broad account of the major features of Marcel Proust's great work A la recherche du temps perdu (1913-1927). The specially commissioned essays, by acknowledged experts on Proust, address a wide range of issues relating to his work. Progressing from background and biographical material, the chapters investigate such essential areas as the composition of the novel, its social dimension, the language in which it is couched, its intellectual parameters and its humor.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (June 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521669618
• ISBN-13: 978-0521669610
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #634,395 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly uneven, but overall a solid introduction to Proust, July 1, 2002

By	Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent and helpful introductory set of essays by leading Anglo-American Proust scholars that will prepare any beginner for working his or her way through Proust's masterpiece. As in any anthology, some of the essays are more rewarding than others. Many of the pieces provide a stellar introduction to Proust and Proust's world, while some (especially some of the later essays in the volume) are as impenetrable as some of Proust's own longer and unfathomable sentences. Nonetheless, anyone unfamiliar with Proust will come away well prepared to read and study Proust's masterpiece. A word of warning: if it is important to you not to know plot details (though Proust is hardly about plot; it isn't the destination in Proust, it is the getting there that counts) before reading a book, then you might want to consider skipping this. Personally, I believe that Proust is one of those rare authors about whose tale one needs to know as much as possible before reading.

The volume is apt to be of less value to Proust scholars, or even serious readers who have read the biographies by either Carter or Tadie, or the critical works of Roger Shattuck, or others (both Carter and Shattuck have essays in this volume). The best essays in the collection tend to be those that are more introductory in nature. The weaker essays tend to be those that are more specialized and focused on specific issues in Proust.

Overall, however, I encourage anyone needing an introductory work on Proust to consider spending some time working through the essays in this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars essential, April 25, 2008

By	Kim Reid (Concord, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is essential reading for those new to Proust, as I am. The variety of topics ranges from Proust's life, to his writing style (including, believe it or not, his brevity), to the period of French cultural history in which the novel is set. I cannot imagine reading Search for Lost Time without this kind of preparation.