The Year of Reading Proust discussion

I will be reading some critical texts as well. Wonder if anyone cares to join me?

So far I'm thinking Genette's Narrative Discourse and Deleuze's Proust and Signs.

I'm particularly interested in the Deleuze.

I definitely plan to do some auxiliary readings. All four that you've mentioned so far sound interesting. I'll take a closer look and figure out which ones I'll focus on.

Paintings in Proust looks amazing!

the Eric Karpeles book sounds fantastic. i'll pick it up this weekend and we can start a category for the auxiliary reads, so that those reading can discuss these texts as well.

Joshua wrote: "Paintings in Proust looks amazing!"

I'm not sure i will have much to add to this group, but i can at least say yes, yes this book is. My friend El recommended it and i got it from the library when i tried to read Swann's Way last year. i was very sad to return that book. anyway, i think i will buy it for this time around.

I was given Paintings in Proust as a gift because I was complaining too much about having to keep checking it out from the library. It's been a significant help while reading the first two books - saves me the trouble of having to Google every reference to every painting/sculpture Proust made. I'm a visual learner, so having the Karpeles book by my side while reading has been a great help. Highly recommended.

As far as the other auxiliary reading, I'm up for any of them. A bit of lingering PTSD after reading Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia prevented me from reading the Deleuze book on Proust, but I could probably manage by the time we start reading.

OMG Kristeva? //hides under bed She's brilliant but she scares me, like a French Sontag.

Paintings in Proust looked so beautiful I got it before this readthrough was even suggested, I think. Does anyone have any opinion on these?

Proust's Way http://www.amazon.com/Prousts-Way-Fie...

How Proust Can Change Your Life (I know, I know) http://www.amazon.com/How-Proust-Chan...

Marcel Proust's Search for Lost Time http://www.amazon.com/Marcel-Prousts-...


....and OMG, I am apparently in the "Proust for Dummies" track of this group. //facedesk

Joshua wrote: "I will be reading some critical texts as well. Wonder if anyone cares to join me?

So far I'm thinking Genette's Narrative Discourse and Deleuze's Proust and Signs."

I would definitely be interested.

Proustitute wrote: "On this journey through the Recherche, I might want to read Eric Karpeles's Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to In Search of Lost Time alongside Proust.

Julia Kristeva's Proust and the Sens..."

Yes!

@Proustitute

A shelf would be great, thanks! It'd be good, I think, if people who are reading other things can bring insights back to the whole group, who might be interested even if they're just following the primary texts; so my impulse, for what it's worth, would be to eschew sub-threads ...

Proustitute wrote: "Would all of you like a shelf for these auxiliary titles - and any that are added - created? Perhaps as time allows we could have an auxiliary shelf here and perhaps sub-threads"

Oh, yes! Great idea.


(also I am now leafing thru IJ in preparation for the other Big Readthrough of 2013 I signed up for and all the Year of the Disposable Glad whatever stuff is making me think of the 'Year Of The Proust' or something like that)

I think an auxiliary shelf would be an excellent idea. I am new to Goodreads so not sure how sub-threads work but it sounds like something to explore...

I have not read them but just visited your link and am very interested. I am studying Margaret Cavendish and this is related reading matter for sure.

Elizabeth wrote: "I'd like to read some of Madame de Sévigné's letters. Has anyone read any of them?"

Oh, yeah! I've always wanted to sample those too.

On the topic of related texts, has anyone read anything about which composer Vinteuil is based on? I think in the past I've read that he might be based on Debussy or Saint-Saëns... Also, I don't know if there's been any credible speculation on particular pieces of music that the 'little phrase' might be based upon--but if there is, these musical works might be nice auxiliary listening for Swann's Way.

(And can anyone give me a phonetic pronunciation of Vinteuil? I have no idea how to say it.)

I really love this approach -- the artwork, the music --

Really - Debussy? Wow. That would totally change the way I imagined it. Where did you read that, David?

Closetpoesie wrote: "I really love this approach -- the artwork, the music --"

--letters...

Hmmm I think Updike writes about possible sources for the music in his review of Pinter's screenplay in Hugging the Shore, I'll have to look and see.

Some suggestions here: http://blog.allmusic.com/2008/11/07/w...

Wiki has a page....if you read French! Thanks, Wiki. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonate_d... Some of their suggestions:

La Sonate n° 1 pour violon et piano, op. 75 de Saint-Saëns (1885)
L'enchantement du vendredi Saint dans l'opéra Parsifal de Wagner (1882)
La Sonate FWV 8 en la majeur de César Franck (1886)
Un Prélude de l'opéra Lohengrin de Wagner (1850)
La Ballade opus 19 pour Piano et Orchestre de Fauré (1881)

The description on the allmusic blog certainly sounds to me like parts of Pelleas et Melisande, which has also been suggested. I think also Updike's the one who points out that there are maybe two? paintings that qualify as the one with the little patch of sunlit wall and neither exactly fit the description.

Faugh, Shore isn't searchable on Amazon or Google Books and isn't online, I'll have to try to figure out where my copy is. People in this group might find Updike's essay interesting because I think he also talks about the translations, and how Proust in French is often more concise than the long sentences in English (very roughly paraphrasing here). Updike also has an essay about reading Proust in his first nonfiction collection, I think.


Also, if anyone wants to read Pinter's screenplay itself, it sounds interesting.

http://www.haroldpinter.org/films/fil...

As his first shot, Pinter has a detail, a patch of yellow wall from Vermeer's View of Delft.
The patch of yellow wall will appear again as the last shot. Over the image is heard the voice of Marcel: It was time to begin."

http://thisrecording.com/today/2011/8...

http://www.amazon.com/The-Proust-Scre...

The screenplay was also adapted for the stage in 2001, apparently.

Joshua wrote: "Really - Debussy? Wow. That would totally change the way I imagined it."

Proust was a big Debussy fan: http://www.therestisnoise.com/2009/08...

Ross also reviewed a Proust-inspired concert in 1995: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/23/art...

....and, oh, this looks neat. http://books.google.com/books?id=LD_p... Damn.

Joshua wrote: "Really - Debussy? Wow. That would totally change the way I imagined it. Where did you read that, David?"

Unfortunately I don't remember... Those are two of the names I remember reading about in connection to the 'little phrase' though...

Moira wrote: "Hmmm I think Updike writes about possible sources for the music in his review of Pinter's screenplay in Hugging the Shore, I'll have to look and see.

Some suggestions here: http://blog.allmusic.c..."

Thanks for linking this article, Moira!

As a mood setter, I've thrown together a Spotify playlist based on the pieces referenced in the Alex Ross article Moira linked to: http://open.spotify.com/user/12309454...
Debussy aside, these are not composers/performers that I'm personally familiar with so anyone is welcome to nominate any superior performances and -Spotify allowing- I'll add them to the playlist.

David wrote: "Thanks for linking this article, Moira! "

Sure! Just wish I could find the Updike article, it's talking about all this stuff exactly.

James wrote: "As a mood setter, I've thrown together a Spotify playlist based on the pieces referenced in the Alex Ross article Moira linked to"

Oh, fantastic! That will be great morning music.

Joshua wrote: "Really - Debussy? Wow. That would totally change the way I imagined it. Where did you read that, David?"

Don't quote me, but I think it might also have been mentioned in Shattuck's Proust's Way: A Field Guide to in Search of Lost Time. I was reading that on the side when I re-read Swann's Way and Within a Budding Grove last year, but had to return it to the library before I could finish (and have yet to go back for it). I might have that tidbit scribbled in my notes at home.

Has anyone read Monsieur Proust by his housekeeper? I should have bought the copy I found once; now that I want to read it, I can't find it again.

ETA: Oh, I see David's read it.

(I don't know David well, but I think he's read everything.)

Now that I think about it, I wonder if the Debussy/Vinteuil connection might have been mentioned in Paul Nader's The World of Proust: As Seen by Paul Nader:

Included are portraits of Sarah Bernhardt, Jean Cocteau, Alphonse Daudet, Claude Debussy, Stephane Mallarme, Claude Monet, and Emile Zola. Each photograph is accompanied by a detailed caption describing the subject and the character in the novel modeled on that person.

Elizabeth wrote: "This is great! Thank you. "

Listening now - it's really beautiful.

Aaah! Proust meltdown! Looking forward to reading ISOLT. Thanks for the invite.

El wrote: "Has anyone read Monsieur Proust by his housekeeper? I should have bought the copy I found once; now that I want to read it, I can't find it again.

ETA: Oh, I see David's read it.

(I don't know D..."


Monsieur Proust was highly entertaining. I'd recommend it to any and all Proust fans.

What about Alain de Botton, or is that just too completely déclassé? But How Proust Can Change Your Life sort of did. Change mine.

Thanks, James, for the Spotify playlist. it's fantastic.

:)

James wrote: "As a mood setter, I've thrown together a Spotify playlist based on the pieces referenced in the Alex Ross article Moira linked to: http://open.spotify.com/user/12309454......"

i've never loved someone more. this is fantastic, james.

Great playlist, James :) Do you think you'd be able to add the Good Friday Spell from Parsifal? I think that is also listed among the possible inspirations ...

Joshua wrote: "Great playlist, James :) Do you think you'd be able to add the Good Friday Spell from Parsifal? I think that is also listed among the possible inspirations ..." Thanks Joshua - Done and done.

Proustitute wrote: "I think making this as interactive as we can will open up the world of the Recherche and enrich all of our experiences (whether as veteran readers or as new readers)."

Oh yeah, I'm loving it. That playlist really opens something up emotionally.

James wrote: "As a mood setter, I've thrown together a Spotify playlist based on the pieces referenced in the Alex Ross article Moira linked to: http://open.spotify.com/user/12309454......"

James, this music is just wonderful - thank you SO much!

Thanks James!

Re Proust and music: http://www.as.miami.edu/personal/sevn...

David, concerning pronunciation of Vinteuil - it's hard to represent unless you know, as I do not, the linguists' phonetic representations, but, here goes. The emphasis is on the second syllable, the first syllable is like "van" (with a more nasalized "n"), for the second syllable (this is the difficult one), imagine Alan Sherman ("My Son the Folk Singer") saying "oy", inflected as if it were an expression of mild fatigue, with a "t" in front of it.

Proustitute wrote: "Hey James,

Why not start a music thread with your very generous Spotify playlist? I'm sure we will soon have many aesthetic-based threads (e.g. art/paintings, music, etc.) when we begin the trek t..."

I think that's a great idea - music threads have worked really well in other GR groups I've belonged to. James's Spotify playlist is inspirational. It's always fun to see what other group members come up with.

I also wanted to say that the group recommendations for auxiliary readings have been wonderful so far. I've picked up quite a few. I can't believe how beautiful Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to In Search of Lost Time is - with all the color illustrations, I would have expected it to be much more expensive.

Can you mark which ones would be good to read ahead of time? I'm trying to keep track of what people say here but I think I need to go back and make some notes for myself. But as a general resource it would be great. Perhaps make a shelf name for preliminary reading?

Thanks so much!

For those interested in filmic renderings and translations, there are a few films taken from Proust's work:

Proust's entry:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698969/

Jeremy Irons is always excellent, and he's in the French film of Swann in Love:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088315/

Time Regained also looks interesting, starring Deneuve and Malkovich:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0189142/

I was wondering if we could make folders specifically for auxiliary and preliminary readings with threads for the appropriate books. or would that be too much discussing all over the place?

@Marieke - I think that might be helpful; I would like that.

On a separate note to all, so we have auxiliary reading, art, music...how about food? I told my husband that since I will be reading Proust in 2013, I will be preparing French cuisine on Sundays - to go with the theme. My family is on board. :)

i like food. 8)

Thanks, Proustitute...I was thinking about this this evening after reading further in Proust's Overcoat: The True Story of One Man's Passion for All Things Proust on my train ride home. i was wondering how many others have read it or plan to. i'm really enjoying it. so if anyone wants to chat about it, i'm game. :)