I must have been close to 20 too when I read Proust's Swann, it's more than 45 years ago now and I don't remember anything of the story. But no novel after it grasped me so much right from the first sentence, it wasn't the story, it was the style of his writing, the descriptions of things that beamed me right into the places he writes about. It was a revelation for me of what literature can do and set the standards for what to read after. I always wanted to reread it and to read the whole set of volumes - but so many unread books pile up in my room and I won't live another 45 years ...
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
Biggest tragedy for me is having to choose, I know. Time is precious. Thank you for choosing to spend your time here, means a lot. Helps me to highlight things and skip to them once in awhile for reminders.
@dougstotts9760
5 жыл бұрын
Please read the rest of the volumes, if it meant so much to you then I guarantee it will resonate even more now. Please take my word for it, and take the time, you will thank God you did. You’re the kind of person he was writing it fore--someone that got it.
@j0nnyism
2 жыл бұрын
You might. It’s not unheard of to live to 105
@dianal.clausen8118
Жыл бұрын
I'm 80, just starting this masterpiece and I've made a commitment to be in my second reading before I check out. I'm reading it slow, so someone younger better get on climate change and the Ukraine, cause I'm going to be around for a while with Proust. I love your reviews and will join as soon as I can. Meanwhile, thanks a bunch. Diana/Chicago
@attheranch873
Жыл бұрын
Well sad.
@joostvandegoor150
5 жыл бұрын
Yes. Proust's language is so beautiful, you can't even see the horizon of it's beauty.
@williamwoody7607
4 жыл бұрын
About 30 years ago, during a lecture, Michael Graves called Proust a likely great architect just for his description of dust appearing in sunlight through parted curtains.
@Fiction_Beast
4 жыл бұрын
I spent 6 months reading Proust (made a video sharing my thoughts) and it is my favourite novel of all time. It's the hard but at the same time the most rewarding book you will ever read. It really goes deep, i learnt things i didnt know existed inside me. reading proust is reading yourself. Thanks for the video. if you have time, watch my summary of the novel, or not. cheers!!
@ginomorales8989
2 жыл бұрын
My two favorite english speaking booktubers reunited by my favorite novel. What else can one ask from digital life? Keep up the criminally good work man!!!
@elizabethstranger3122
6 жыл бұрын
' the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.' - L.P. Hartley ( The Go-Between; another great book, similar is some ways).
@tokyochemist
7 жыл бұрын
If it doesn't taste like you're eating a stick of butter, it's not a good madeleine.
@sukhshuvo134
4 жыл бұрын
Great humour of you. I enjoyed this comment.
@leafyconcern
4 жыл бұрын
I want to eat a stick of butter!
@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293
4 жыл бұрын
Ha! Also, croissants in UK supermarkets taste of misery and despair. I have no idea what those imposters actually are, but they are most certainly NOT croissants. :)
@DarkAngelEU
3 жыл бұрын
Pastry shops are a treasure
@johannesclimacus3091
7 жыл бұрын
I'm sorry, I thought this was Better Than Food: Book Reviews, not Better Than Books: Food Reviews!
@marichristian1072
4 жыл бұрын
It took me until I was quite an mature lady to realize how hilarious parts of "Swann's Way" really were.
@colinellesmere
2 жыл бұрын
22.19. That is the exact extract I sent to friends. An incredibly peceptive passage. Marx said "An hour prwctice is worth a 100 hours of theory". Proust is saying we can learn faster from literature which provides us with experiences we may never have.
@adamy5339
7 жыл бұрын
Hey Cliff, just wanted to say your channel has made a great impact on my life. I'm 17, about to go into uni and this period of transition has given me time to read and appreciate many of the books you have recommended. Thank you! Should you find yourself in Sydney Australia, give us a heads up!
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
Shall do! Great to hear Adam, stick around and keep in touch.
@magnavitae4736
3 жыл бұрын
Hey hows it going?
@JJ-ic7sq
10 ай бұрын
How are you today
@GlebShikhov
3 жыл бұрын
Greetings from Siberia! I'm so happy to hear your analysis again and again. The thinking people form a real family. Thank you so much, man, for your work!
@renoesmaeilian9489
7 жыл бұрын
Must read: Robert Musil's Man Without Qualities.
@allofthemmilkingwithgreenf7493
7 жыл бұрын
Proust distinguishes himself from all the other great authors through his meticulously fathoming of human emotion and the unparalleled meditation on the passing of time which surpasses in his complexity any philosophy I've read. Great review Cliff, always happy to see a new video of yours.
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@williamdrouin8063
5 жыл бұрын
I dont know. Joyce is probably his equal
@DarkAngelEU
3 жыл бұрын
@@williamdrouin8063 The themes of Joyce are very different though, dealing with religion, symbols and language. I'd say Virginia Woolf is much closer to Proust because she also uses interiority, time and memory to structure her narratives. She also has a debt to the romantics like Proust, Joyce is radically modern.
@Robert_St-Preux
6 жыл бұрын
If anyone is interested, the George Sand novel that Proust mentions in volumes one and seven in connection with the night the narrator's mother failed to kiss him before bed, _François le Champi_ , is potentially an "Easter egg" relevant to the story. I'm currently about a third of the way through _François_ and have already observed at least three things that bear directly on _À la recherche du temps perdu_ . And it's a good story of its own, as well.
@alanamccool7409
4 жыл бұрын
I came here after reading Flaubert's Madame Bovary (I loved it), because you recommended that book to people who like Proust. So happen now I am reading Swann's Way; I like Madame Bovary the story more, but I enjoy the writing in this book. That part you read at the end, about how we empathize better with people in books (more than people we know outside books) because we can see them really close, we can see them change (I am thinking about Madame Bovary when I write that), and people outside books change too slow and feel less than real for us. Happen it is similar if you have a child and the child she is growing; in your mind you can remember when she was an infant but because you saw every moment in her growing, it is difficult for to feel how each part in her childhood, infant, 1 year, 2 year, and every day and week between she is changing, but we forget the different people they become and remember only a line stretch back from how she is now. I remember the moment I read that part and I think, still think, that is one of the most true things I read in my life. Thank you.
@j0nnyism
2 жыл бұрын
I read Bovary when I was younger I remember feeling contempt towards her and pity for her husband. Retreading it later in life I have pity for her and contempt for her husband. Life changes the way you read tremendously
@Antastesia
7 жыл бұрын
I would love for you to read/review Aurélien by Aragon!
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
Always wanted to read him and more surrealists - thanks for the suggestion!
@antoinemozart243
10 күн бұрын
I remember Proust saying : "it is better to live a life than dreaming about it but dreaming about it is also living it".
@alexanderschmidt8520
7 жыл бұрын
Read Swann's Way only last year and totally loved it! As you said, it needs to be taken in slowly, sipped in drop by drop like very heavy port wine. Second Part is already on my bookshelf, but I'm still busy with other books and work and boring everyday issues... ;-) As Proust is also one of the writer's discussed by Bataille in "Evil in Literature" I wondered wether you would touch on that. But maybe that would make for a good topic for a seperate vid: "Evil in Literature" and the works discussed therein.
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
Ohhhh yeaaaahh....God I love that essay. Thanks for watching.
@shaanparwani
4 жыл бұрын
Can u do one on The Tale Of Genji
@CedricV77
7 жыл бұрын
Always love your reviews! Been watching for a year now and love to see your channel expand even more.
@CedricV77
7 жыл бұрын
Been wanting to get into Proust. This sounds like a good time to do so.
@khadimndiaye7730
3 жыл бұрын
Just finished Swann‘s Way. Anybody read the other one‘s? How are they in comparison?
@kaspafischer
3 жыл бұрын
I finished Past Recaptured a few years ago... it was magnificent! time well-spent I must say... Proust was a genius.... what else can I say? LOL... thank goodness for that damn madeleine!
@scriecumine913
3 жыл бұрын
Swann's Way is the least interesting from the bunch. Still great, though.
@khadimndiaye7730
3 жыл бұрын
@@scriecumine913 thanks for the recommendation. The first volume has sort of shocked me profoundly while the 2nd helped me to grasp Proust‘s genius. I will continue and plan to read it all!!
@LuneFlaneuse
4 жыл бұрын
I can’t wait to read it. I really like the analogy with ambient music (and Tim Hecker!)
@alipanroosendaal9503
3 жыл бұрын
What we all have in common with Proust is that we are human beings possessing the ability to live life and assess life simultaneously.
@shea_o_keith
7 жыл бұрын
I've been hoping you'd do Swann's Way since I discovered your channel. It has intimidated me for years. I've always doubted my ability to grasp it but I think it's about time I gave it proper go.
@alfonsojimenez8840
7 жыл бұрын
Great review per usual . After I finish up with Giovanni's room I'm definitely picking up Swan's Way. Have you read any James Baldwin? Is he a future video topic ?
@Morsoculi
7 жыл бұрын
Ohhhh Man I really love your channel, just because you talk about my favorite books and authors (and you do it with passion): Huysmans, Pessoa, Lispector and now Proust (if you do one of Virginia Woolf I die jaja). Im happy,. In this days Im reading the second novel of the saga, and Im doing it to my grandmother.
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
I really didn't care for 'The Waves' but I'm willing to give her another shot if you have a rec, thanks for watching.
@Morsoculi
7 жыл бұрын
Better Than Food: Book Reviews Well, I recommend you The Complete Shorter Fiction. One of my favorite topics in those tales is madness, and how that style, the steam of conciusness, fall in a hole (as ocurrs in Ms Dalloway).
@Pantano63
4 жыл бұрын
@@BetterThanFoodBookReviews 'Orlando' is my favorite book of hers. It grabs you right from the first page. Borges even translated it to Spanish. Maybe that one, Cliff.
@mushfiqshukurlu8424
5 жыл бұрын
As the same occurrence. I have read Proust with the same breaks. Firstly, half of Swan's way, then about 7 months passed and I returned to again and couldn't separate myself from him.
@JuanPerez-lm1ur
4 жыл бұрын
The only book review channel I really enjoy
@90RavenBlack
7 жыл бұрын
I believe it was Richard Griffiths who played Uncle Monty in 'Withnail & I'. Did you know 'Withnail & I' was originally an unpublished novel?, one which featured a far bleaker ending than the one shown in the film.
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
Had no clue - gotta review that one, thanks for watching!
@90RavenBlack
7 жыл бұрын
Not sure if the novel is readily available, though sections of it certainly are. If you do manage to find it then I'll look forward to your review of it. :)
@j0nnyism
2 жыл бұрын
The tea should be served in pocerlain teacup and from teapot
@henrikibsen6258
4 жыл бұрын
There's more to life than books you know, But not much more. -Moz
@j0nnyism
2 жыл бұрын
My proustian moment is smelling the decay of leaves and feeling the warm sun of mid autumn whilst walking through my local park
@kathleennix8164
7 жыл бұрын
My goal in life now is to become the one great author without daddy issues. Thanks, I have found my purpose.
@ailuvmie
3 жыл бұрын
😂😂😂😂
@DJ-tx6bo
5 жыл бұрын
11:26. The answer is James Joyce.
@kendspan212
5 жыл бұрын
Life is too short to read bullshit. What a wonderful review! I picked up Swans Way last fall and was intimidated that I wouldn’t grasp it fully. But after your review I can’t wait to take my time, slow down and take it in. Thank you!
@j0nnyism
2 жыл бұрын
Life’s to short to read bullshit and here am I reading KZitem comment sections. Yourself excluded of course
@lastunctives2095
4 жыл бұрын
See the Monty python sketch - summary of the whole of Temp Perdu in 30 seconds in a barmy Quiz show .
@pudim3113
9 ай бұрын
19:05 Who is this author that he mentioned? I couldn't quite grasp what he said
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
9 ай бұрын
J.K. Huysmans 👍 Great author
@nnn-pr3vr
3 жыл бұрын
By being so sensitive and observant of the tiniest details a great writer can express the human experience in the most beautiful way but it also means they can cut through bullshit which may not be so good for the fathers ego. Clashes of opinion are probably quite good for sharpening the sword of rhetoric too.
@MusicMan2869
7 жыл бұрын
If you're looking for another great winter read I recommend Ice by Anna Kavan.
@viniciusferreiradasilva8348
7 жыл бұрын
This might seem unrelated, but I recently saw The Neon Demon and I was wondering--spoilers for the ending--: Do you think the ending was a reference to 'Story of the Eye'? It fits the themes of the film oddly well, in my opinion.
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
yup, I do.
@Thompsdan
4 жыл бұрын
Richard Griffiths- RIP - was Uncle Monty.
@vrixphillips
7 жыл бұрын
haha finally! I love Proust. I had planned to read all of In Search... last year, but life happened and school happened... maybe when I graduate. But yeah, I read Swann's Way in High School and it became my all time favorite book.
Volume 1, Swan's Way, is like a prelude to the remaining volumes, or so I am told by an Oxford literature professor friend of mine. I'm currently half way through Volume 2, In the 'Shadow of Young Girls in Flower'. I'm reading the Penguin Modern Classics ed. translated by James Grieve. I highly recommend it. It is a dazzling analysis of male and female adolescence, of childhood memories, of love and sexuality, of growing up, relationships, finding one's place in society and much more. Proust's ability to describe feelings, emotions and perceptions is simply spectacular. Please don't stop at reading Swan's Way. In The Shadow of Young Girls in Flower is, in my opinion, deeper and more profound. Virginia Woolf is quoted as saying 'My great adventure was undoubtedly Proust. What is there left to write after that?'
@elias.knotman
2 ай бұрын
On daddy issues. Both Nabokov and Beckett loved and revered their fathers.
@zamplify
2 ай бұрын
Proust was known for taking his tea with the bag still in.
@anridvalishvili5908
2 жыл бұрын
Amazing review, thanks a lot
@enemywithin1295
5 жыл бұрын
I'd like to see you review Pimp by Iceberg Slim
@asderc1
7 жыл бұрын
I'm glad you love Withnail and I. I always wonder if the humour of those quintessential British comedys carries over the Atlantic.
@eternallydreamingoflibrari8259
7 жыл бұрын
your videos are always the highlight of my day
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
Thanks! Glad to make it better!
@gommine
4 ай бұрын
Why the slurping though?
@Le_Samourai
2 жыл бұрын
amazing narration, you picked out some of my favorite passages as well. love the backdrop of the tea
@olav1354
2 жыл бұрын
That opening is hilarious! XD
@peteswanson1718
3 жыл бұрын
you forgot to dip it!
@Dan-jh3qf
Жыл бұрын
Kerouac loved Proust, so I’ve wanted to dive in!
@quoileternite
3 жыл бұрын
The book is mainly about how the narrator became a writer, how the narrator became the writer of the book your are reading.
@zulunation90s95
7 жыл бұрын
God i was excited when i saw this in my feed. Purchased the Recherche a couple of weeks ago, now i just gotta finnish all my unread books. Keep the Great content comin'!
@williamwoody7607
6 жыл бұрын
Arcana; in an essay, Michael Graves called Proust a better architect than most by virtue of his description of dust floating thru rays of light.
@koosy2987
6 жыл бұрын
I have a painting that is probably done by Marcel Proust, it has been in my French family for decades and I wonder if art by Marcel would have some value. Anyone?
@johnmurphy2168
5 жыл бұрын
Thank you for giving me words.
@patrickweller5254
7 жыл бұрын
Fantastic reviews dude. Read Story of the Eye last week, very cool book.
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed man, thanks for watching
@olewetdog6254
3 жыл бұрын
I thought you were supposed to dunk the cookie in the tea? Seriously though this link is the best explanation of Proust: www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/marcel-proust/
@ulissesbrandao196
7 жыл бұрын
Waiting for the day you'll review some Haruki Murakami or Pynchon. Keep doing the great job
@davej5313
5 жыл бұрын
Ulisses Brandão Murakami is exactly how I learned about Proust. 1Q84 brought me here
@jackbailey7037
3 жыл бұрын
why is the cover page worded 'snob'?
@kakokako88
7 жыл бұрын
Hi there Mr. Books, Love your channel! You give literature another fun dimension... thank you for that! So, question: Did you read anything of Mr. Philip Roth? What do you think about him? Keep on awesome work! Kindest and warmest regards, De Selby
@kylesillon1836
7 жыл бұрын
Wish I had more time to watch this right now! Great review choice. I'll be back.
@toniqa3
4 жыл бұрын
Hey in case you forgot to come back, here to remind you that you can watch this now :)
@davidlee6720
2 жыл бұрын
you don't read big books and now you pick the largest of the lot! i suppose you are going to read it in series form. A great reward if you can do it so they say.
@Sophie-ww7qi
4 жыл бұрын
After spending hours of analyzing this novel at Uni, this intro just made me die.
@Roderik46
7 жыл бұрын
I was thinking of reading this, now I'm convinced
@BatchelderPatrick
Ай бұрын
You also need to read Balzac to understand the milieu of their times. At a time when the social context of royal and aristocracy were not only ethereal but a questioning if any of it ever existed. Don't take my word for it. Read it.
@kartikthopalli9346
7 жыл бұрын
How do you hold back, to relish these long sentences without getting carried away by the dense prose?
@joshg.4448
7 жыл бұрын
I don't think James Joyce had any issues with his dad, actually I've heard they were quite fond of one another, and Joyce is my favorite 20th century author! (please try to review one of his books, although I remember you saying in one video that you did not finish "Ulysses" which is understandable but unfortunate)
@almahperditae
7 жыл бұрын
Who the hell finish Ulysses? I try, 2 or 3 times, and when I can enter is stream of tought, the book is really amazing, but the last 1/3 of the book is just impossible. i can't believe that someone ever read that. It's impossible.
@joshg.4448
7 жыл бұрын
wait until you get to Finnegans Wake....
@anthonymcglinch7503
11 ай бұрын
I wanna see you review the REST of Rememberence of Things Past, please.
@perenphilos
7 жыл бұрын
Are you from Canada?
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
No, I'm American. Born in Okalahoma, raised in the Northwest, and now in Los Angeles.
@gabrielam2743
7 жыл бұрын
Hey Mr Sargent, could you recommend any british comedy similar to Whitnail and I?
@souryatanusaha6681
5 жыл бұрын
You read the Lydia Davis translation?
@tobiastranetellefsen4203
3 жыл бұрын
The funny thing about reading Proust is the fact that you start dreaming about his books during the night.
@anodyne57
Жыл бұрын
Wow, what's the opposite of "added value"? Yup...the experience of watching this video. If you're the slightest bit interested in the book, I suggest you read the book.
@Daniel-vx3qt
3 жыл бұрын
Who's the author he mentions at 19:04 ? I can't spell the name and the captions don't help.
@quarkycharms2506
5 ай бұрын
I couldn't articulate it either. Glad I sounded it out enough for Google to give the name of the author. 'Joris-Karl Huysmans' is his name, and the book title is, 'Against Nature'. 'Better Than Food' gives a review of it, btw. kzitem.info/news/bejne/l596yoaJe4lqZag
@robertonegron776
5 жыл бұрын
Difficult to read, takes me a couple hours just to unpack a few sentences, but then again I ain't that smart, suh.
@jmiquelmb
5 жыл бұрын
It takes a bit to get used to his way of writing. Once you've read more, it's easier to follow.
Cool ive been meaning to watch some of these after the Yukio mishima vid on sun and steel, good channel!!
@BillyxRansom
6 жыл бұрын
my question is, could someone get away with floral descriptions today? i mean, you can self-publish now, almost as like a main consideration in many instances, but, would one be able to sell at a decent clip if their work is full of those brands of lavish meditations on [pick a topic]....
@djpeanutbutterjelly
7 жыл бұрын
Well, as far as we know Thomas Pynchon never had any daddy issues. Then again, certain more disturbing passages in Gravity's Rainbow could be interpreted to suggest such a thing... Great review. That's cool that you enjoy Tim Hecker; I'd very much like to see some more music recommendations.
@aswinunni1811
7 жыл бұрын
Dylan Baldwin we hardly know anything about the guy ..:D...Pynchon is like an enigma collapsing in itself...if that makes any sense...
@MRBrown-hg5iw
7 жыл бұрын
It may be tolerable to read a volume a year, over a period of seven years. That's what I'll be doing anyways (when it's time)... (Lost time?)
@jimowen1262
Жыл бұрын
You are not going to have the madalein experience because you don't have the Aunt Leonie memory.
@JHarder1000
4 жыл бұрын
I think that in your case, An A and W and a good cheeseburger would have done the trick!
@andrewlamb4857
2 күн бұрын
Thanks!
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
2 күн бұрын
My pleasure, thank you very much for your kind donation!
@uyfugbug766546
Жыл бұрын
You're doing it wrong. You dip the madeleine into the tea first.
@krell1080
4 ай бұрын
The slurping and smacking is truly terrible... but ill give it a pass cuz youre a Fall fan
@Brandon-tj5sk
5 жыл бұрын
hey man you mispronounced the word vicissitudes
@MS57276
7 жыл бұрын
Tea tastes better with a splash of milk.
@sergioalves5278
8 ай бұрын
Algumas pessoas escalam o Evereste, outras leem Proust.
@marksoldiers230
5 жыл бұрын
You should remove the teabag before drinking.
@meesalikeu
Жыл бұрын
BLOWING BUBBLES IN TEA?
@filmsyoushouldbewatching
3 жыл бұрын
Man you should narrate some audiobooks!
@geishasas1190
2 жыл бұрын
Ok ok.. now put the gun down.
@tygbl3427
7 жыл бұрын
I don't want to come off as creepy but... you're absolutely gorgeous. A unique appearance with a quintessential tint of intelligence, wit and charisma.
@BetterThanFoodBookReviews
7 жыл бұрын
Not creepy - thanks for the kind words and for watching.
@spiggyholz8824
Жыл бұрын
that slurping is just revolting!
@mrt53
7 жыл бұрын
You should read Harvest by Jim Crace, I think you'd like it. Keep up the good work man these are the best book reviews online, at least that I've seen
@karmaphobia835
4 жыл бұрын
Hey bro. Great review, rather unconventional. What book would you recommend by Jorge Luis Borges? Like what's THE BOOK to get?
@sebasargent
3 жыл бұрын
He recommends Ficciones
@sebasargent
Жыл бұрын
Lol I love the beginning
@j0nnyism
2 жыл бұрын
If I decide to write I shall use the pseudonym of buggery just to know that at lest uncle monty will approve
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