Zeliha Aksoylar Aksoylar itibaren 916 95 Örträsk, स्विडेन itibaren 916 95 Örträsk, स्विडेन

it is a beautiful love story

Great book. I feel it's better than the first two. Maybe it's the collective impression I'm getting from the epic so far. This one felt heavier, and seemed to affirm the character's doomed perfectionism and naivete. I loved the structure, the first part building his introduction into society, the central event which matured him, and the second part his actual introduction. Mme de Villeparisis' salon as a dress rehearsal for Mme Guermantes salon (which is hinted to lead to Princesse Guermantes' in the next volume). The notion of disappointment is a strong theme, his imagination is never satisfied by the boring and unintelligent figures he meets. The grandmother character's humility made me well up. I won't spoil it, but nothing affects me more than when someone keeps their suffering secret from the ones they love. The narrator, of course, fails to appreciate the purely good characters. Like Albertine, who shows up to tempt Marcel but is cast aside by his new society fascinations. In the second part of the novel, I found myself stuck in a drawing room amid cruel gossip, the narrator's disappointments, and eternal genealogical regressions and premonitions for 133 pages. The name-dropping, back-biting dialogue was the most difficult, but I believe it to be historically accurate. Most period literature would not impose on the reader the full tortures of a visit with royal Parisian snobbery. Stendhal and Flaubert at most give the reader a sample of society, while modern writers tend to demonize society and aristocracy. Proust's upper class depictions are quite raw, not indecent, just tiresome – more genuine. When Charlus finally prances on stage, he makes everyone in the previous scene seem angelic by comparison. One thing that bothers me throughout the series – I'm not convinced of the believability of the narrator's invitations into society. Everyone seems to welcome him exclusively as if he was a famous writer or academic, but the character at this time hasn't written. He doesn't say much, especially nothing witty. Is he remarkably handsome? He mentions his indifference as a key, but I'm not convinced that it's enough (he's only truly indifferent on the one occasion when he's full of thoughts of Mme Stermaria). Even Charlus, who sought to use his society connections to woo Marcel, seems surprised that Marcel is so openly welcomed. Perhaps some indication is on its way in further volumes.