Guess what I'm considering reading.

[MsAmerica]

Proust.

Have you ever?

It looks to be about 3,000 pages.

Yes. Amazing books. The only time I ever missed my stop on the tube was when I was engrossed in Swann‘s Way.

Yes, it's fantastic. I still haven't finished it though! I have the entire series in a single volume that my first (!!!) husband gave me in the mid-1980s (!!!). The trouble is that the pages are (understandably!!!) very thin with fine print, and nowadays I only read in bed so use a backlit Kindle and don't often make the time to read an actual book during daylight hours. You have, however, reminded me of my mission to complete it before I die 🤣

www.la-pleiade.fr/Catalogue/GALLIMARD/Bibliotheque-de-la-Pleiade/A-la-recherche-du-temps-perdu

Yes, yes, yes. The first book is the chewiest I would say, and some of the long meditative passages need concentrating on.

The more narrative parts are very readable and very funny, although he is completely neurotic of course, but you must already know this.

The new translation published by Penguin is very good.

Ooh piqued my interest

My DS(20) has just read all of the A la recherche books and raves about them. He hasn't convinced me yet.

I read Swann’s Way a few months ago and really enjoyed it. I'd assumed it would be difficult to read but it's not atall, I think it's just the length that makes them overwhelming.

Thank you! That gives me hope!

Funny, I, too, have a problem with the format, but it's different from yours.

I have a lovely three-volume boxed set that I stole, and the book are so heavy that it's inconvenient, and so formal that it's a bit daunting.

I have the Moncrief.

Lol. Are you up for 3,000 pages?

Well...I just was struggling with a sentence that ran the length of the entire page.

I was thinking, Stick in a period, for crissakes.

Ha that's true actually! He could have done with a bit more punctuation!

I've been reading it in the original with occasional reference to the Moncrief when I get too confused, although sometimes it's not that illuminating and some long passages are just as torturous to read in English translation.

DS bought the new translation which is by Lydia Davies, it's had very good reviews but I haven't looked at it in detail. I don't think she has finished the whole thing yet either.