قصة الكتاب :
In Search of Lost Time is a major 20th century work of French fiction by Marcel Proust. Also translated as Remembrance of Things Past, the book was originally written in French in seven parts from 1913 to 1927. It is the story of the author’s own life narrated as an allegorical search for the truth. It describes in great detail his childhood recollections and experiences into adulthood and is set in the late 19th century and early 20th century in aristocratic France. The 3000-page novel was initially dismissed by most critics as being too self-indulgent and narcissistic, but has survived the test of time and is today considered a crucial modernist work. Once considered avant-garde, Proust today is mainstream, mainly because he pioneered in the exploration of subjects that are constantly contemplated upon in today’s world; be it childhood effect, sexual obsession, social deception, possessive jealousy, sadomasochism, memory and the manner in which all of these play together to lead to a quest to know. He expresses through his prose the drives, agonies and frustrations of love; and makes the long and tedious reading of his seven-volume work worthwhile to the reader who manages to get through it. After the first volume was published in 1913, Anatole France famously wrote “Life is too short and Proust is too long”. \r\n
\r\nProust had trouble getting his very first volume, Swann’s Way published. His work was turned down by multiple editors and he finally had to pay to get it done. For Proust, his writing was a work in progress and he never stopped adding on to it. It’s only when he was hit by illness in 1922 that he stopped. His novel has made a solid impact on twentieth century literature. After his first volume, Proust went on to publish two more volumes as he had originally planned. These were In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower and the Prix Goncourt, after which he quickly became famous worldwide. Two more of works were published in his lifetime i.e. The Guermantes Way and Sodom and Gomorrah. The remaining three were published posthumously. A final compilation of his entire work was published in 1954. \r\n
\r\nMost critics insist that to completely grasp the depth of Proust’s writing, readers should treat In Search of Lost Time as a single book and not as seven different books. The book is full of internal cross-references and several earlier experiences hold the key to future actions. Proust gives us an extraordinarily detailed chronicle of “desire’’ as exploration, suffering and knowledge. He elaborates this in his second work when he explains his passionate and obsessive love for Albertine; while recognizing the impossibility of ever completely possessing her. As an author, Proust remains unmatched in his exemplary attention to detail with which he illuminated, through his work, every single aspect of human existence. \r\n