The Guermantes Way (In Search of Lost Time, Volume 3) (Vol 3) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Editor), Mark Treharne (Translator) "The Guermantes Way was published by Gallimard in two parts, in 1920 and 1921 respectively..." (more)
Key Phrases: family genie, young footman, Mme de Guermantes, Mme de Villeparisis, Marcel Proust (more...)

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Product Description

Since the original, prewar translation there has been no completely new rendering of the French original into English. This translation brings to the fore a more sharply engaged, comic and lucid Proust. IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME is one of the greatest, most entertaining reading experiences in any language. As the great story unfolds from its magical opening scenes to its devastating end, it is the Penguin Proust that makes Proust accessible to a new generation. Each book is translated by a different, superb translator working under the general editorship of Professor Christopher Prendergast, University of Cambridge.

About the Author

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) is now generally viewed as the greatest French novelist and perhaps the greatest European novelist of the 20th century. He lived much of his later life as a reclusive semi-invalid in a sound-proofed flat in Paris, giving himself over entirely to writing IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: Allen Lane (October 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0713996064
• ISBN-13: 978-0713996067
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,780,399 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superior Translation of Proust's Masterpiece, December 21, 2004

By	Christopher C. Tamigi (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Guermantes Way (Hardcover)

This is the third volume in the new English translation of Proust's "A la ricerche de temp perdu," completed in 2001 under the guise of General Editor Christopher Prendergast, in which each volume is written by a different author. This groundbreaking new edition is the first entirely original English translation of Proust's novel since C. K. Scott Moncrieff first adapted it into English back in the Edwardian era (The 1993 Modern Library edition by D. J. Enright is a revision of the old Scott/Kilmartin translation which does little more than bring it in line with the current French edition of the novel).

This new translation is said to be more loyal to the French original. It is also said flow better and be more readable. Whereas I can't vouche for either of the above claims myself, since I don't read French and this is my first time tackling the novel, I can tell you that I am almost finished with Mark Treharne's translation of "The Guermantes Way" and I'm greatly enjoying it. In fact, I find it more interesting that the first two volumes (which I read in the Modern Library translation). I think this is due not only to the new subject matter but also the more readable translation.

This edition also contains invaluable endnotes explaining Proust's cultural references about people, places, and things alluded to in the text which are probably unfamiliar to the contemporary anglophone reader. These endnotes were truly enlighting and added to my enjoyment of the book. For instance, I can't imagine reading this volume without the account of the Dreyfus affair (a divisive political controversy involving the military and anti-semitism oft discussed in the fin de siecle French salons depicted by Proust) and its players.

In this volume, the snobbish young narrator first begins to enter the Parisian high society of the Guermantes. There he renews his friendship with Robert de Saint-Loup, the dashing young army officer he met in Balbec, and Saint-Loup's great aunt, Mme. de Villeparisis, who is writing her memoirs. He also encounters Saint-Loup's uncle once again, the enigmatic M. de Charlus who offers to be the narrator's mentor in his quest to conquer high society. The narrator also makes the acquaintance of the beautiful Duchesse de Guermantes, a woman who long fascinating him due to her surnames romantic association with the countryside where he spent his childhood summers. Furthermore, in this volume, the narrator first becomes intimately acquainted with Albertine, the great love of his life.

Perhaps my favorite passage was a long description of the narrator's first visit to Mme. Villeparisis salon, of all the interesting characters he meets there, and of the conversations that take place. Proust's painstaking description truly summons up this world which seized to exist over a century ago for the reader.

If you are interesting in tackling "the Guermantes Way" I recommend you get your hands on this superior translation.