This is the second time I am making my way through Remembrance of Things Past. I never got around to reading all seven of Proust’s volumes until I was in my forties, which I now consider one of the major mistakes of my life. Proust opened my eyes to the mysteries of time and memory, the need for self-examination, the importance of the imagination, the necessity of aesthetic perception, the glories of nature, the intricacies of the human soul, and—most important—the spiritual vision in all great art. (And if only I had discovered all this when I was younger!) I’ve learned that Proust’s masterwork is even more intricate and brilliant the second time you experience it. Like all supreme works of art you always find something new and wonderful every time you go back to it. As far as I’m concerned, Proust was second only to Shakespeare in his ability to create vivid characters, memorable dialogue, and absorbing situations.

The Guermantes Way is one of Proust’s most satirical volumes. It concerns the adventures of Proust’s narrator in Parisian high society, an in-group composed of superficial bores and titled idiots, all of whom occupy their useless lives with never-ending social events. But all the characters come across as living and breathing human beings, and you can really discover what goes on inside their heads. Their petty maneuverings can also be quite humorous—one thing I never expected when I decided to tackle Proust was that some passages would be so funny that I would end up shaking with laughter.

Onward to The Cities of the Plain…