Books with title Swann's Way

When the narrator of Swann’s Way dips a petite madeleine into hot tea, the act transports him to his childhood in the French town of Combray. Out of his Pandora’s box of reflections comes a memory of an old family friend, Swann—a man who was long ago undone by romantic desire and cruel reality. In this reverie lie the insights the author seeks about his own life and ageless truths about the ephemeral nature of emotions, places, and, ultimately, love.A masterful ode to memory’s power to haunt the heart and nourish the soul, this first volume of Proust’s magnum opus, In Search of Lost Time, remains an unmatched accomplishment in the Western literary canon.AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature’s most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.Revised edition: Previously published as Swann's Way, this edition of Swann's Way (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

Swann's Way tells two related stories, the first of which revolves around Marcel, a younger version of the narrator, and his experiences in, and memories of, the French town Combray. Inspired by the "gusts of memory" that rise up within him as he dips a Madeleine into hot tea, the narrator discusses his fear of going to bed at night. He is a creature of habit and dislikes waking up in the middle of the night not knowing where he is. He claims that people are defined by the objects that surround them and must piece together their identities bit by bit each time they wake up. The young Marcel is so nervous about sleeping alone that he looks forward to his mother's goodnight kisses, but also dreads them as a sign of an impending sleepless night. One night, when Charles Swann, a friend of his grandparents, is visiting, his mother cannot come kiss him goodnight. He stays up until Swann leaves and looks so sad and pitiful that even his disciplinarian father encourages "Mamma" to spend the night in Marcel's room. The narrator traces the roots of his inclination to become a writer back to Combray. His grandparents and friends encourage him to read and introduce him to Bergotte, who becomes his favorite author. Marcel is awestruck by the overpowering beauty of the landscape around Combray, especially the hawthorn blossoms that line the path to Swann's house. He loves to fall asleep in the shade of these blossoms and then walk around the outskirts of Combray, where he can admire the town church. Watching the sun reflect off the roof tiles of the church steeple, Marcel decides to become a writer and describes what he sees to the best of his ability. One day, he accidentally comes across an open window at M. Vinteuil's house. A composer, Vinteuil died of a broken heart after his daughter took another woman as her lover. Marcel spies on the two lovers as they mock the memory of the recently deceased Vinteuil.

When the narrator of Swann’s Way dips a petite madeleine into hot tea, the act transports him to his childhood in the French town of Combray. Out of his Pandora’s box of reflections comes a memory of an old family friend, Swann—a man who was long ago undone by romantic desire and cruel reality. In this reverie lie the insights the author seeks about his own life and ageless truths about the ephemeral nature of emotions, places, and, ultimately, love.A masterful ode to memory’s power to haunt the heart and nourish the soul, this first volume of Proust’s magnum opus, In Search of Lost Time, remains an unmatched accomplishment in the Western literary canon.AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature’s most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.Revised edition: Previously published as Swann’s Way, this edition of Swann’s Way (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

The first volume of Proust's seven-part novel "In Search of Lost Time," is one of the most entertaining reading experiences and arguably one of the finest novel of the twentieth century. Being Proust's most prominent work. A mature, unnamed man recalls the details of his commonplace, idyllic existence as a sensitive and intuitive boy in Combray. Telling the story through his younger mind in a beautiful dream like prose the narrator tells of the romance of his country neighbor Monsieur Swann. The narrator tells of his hopeless infatuation with Swann's little daughter, Gilberte. Within this fragmented narrative the important themes of memory, time and art are woven skillfully though the story.

Swann's Way is the first novel of Marcel Proust's seven-volume magnum opus In Search of Lost Time. Following the narrator's opening ruminations about the nature of sleep is one of twentieth-century literature's most famous scenes: the eating of the madeleine soaked in a "decoction of lime-flowers," the associative act from which the remainder of the narrative unfurls. After elaborate reminiscences about his childhood with relatives in rural Combray and in urban Paris, Proust's narrator recalls a story regarding Charles Swann, a major figure in his Combray childhood, and his escapades in nineteenth-century privileged Parisian society, revolving around his obsessive love for young socialite Odette de Crecy.Filled with searing, insightful, and humorous criticisms of French society, this novel showcases Proust's innovative prose style. With narration that alternates between first and third person, Swann's Way unconventionally introduces Proust's recurring themes of memory, love, art, and the human experience—and for nearly a century, audiences have deliciously savored each moment.

Sodom and Gomorrah opens a new phase of In Search of Lost Time. While watching the pollination of the Duchess de Guer-mantes’s orchid, the narrator secretly observes a sexual encounter between two men. “Flower and plant have no conscious will,” Samuel Beckett wrote of Proust’s representation of sexuality. “They are shameless, exposing their genitals. And so in a sense are Proust’s men and women . . . shameless. There is no question of right and wrong.” For this authoritative English-language edition, D. J. Enright has revised the late Terence Kilmartin’s acclaimed reworking of C. K. Scott Moncrieff’s translation to take into account the new definitive French editions of Á la recherché du temps perdu (the final volume of these new editions was published by the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade in 1989).