Swann's Way (1913) is the first volume of Marcel Proust's seven-part
novel In Search of Lost Time. Written while Proust was virtually
confined to his bedroom from a lifelong respiratory illness, Swann's
Way is a story of memory, history, family, and romance from a master of
Modernist literature. Praised by Virginia Woolf, Vladimir Nabokov,
Michael Chabon, and Graham Greene, In Search of Lost Time explores the
nature of memory and time while illuminating the history of
homosexuality in nineteenth century Europe. For a long time I used to go
to bed early." Alone in his bedroom, the narrator meditates on sleep,
dreams, and the passing of time. Spurred into memory by the taste of a
madeleine dipped in a cup of lime blossom tea, he recalls his childhood
in Combray, a rural village on the outskirts of Paris. Slowly, faces and
names from the past come back to him--he recalls a neighbor named Swann,
whose promising marriage proved disastrous; his Jewish friend Bloch, who
introduced him to literature; and the walks he would take with his
parents through the beautiful countryside. As he grows and learns, he
begins to recognize the reality concealed by convention: the secret
liaisons between lovers; the petty competitions of artists; the fleeting
nature of affection and lust alike. Written in flowing prose, Swann's
Way is a masterpiece of twentieth century fiction that continues to
entertain and astound over a century after it appeared in print. With a
beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this
edition of Marcel Proust's Swann's Way is a classic work of French
literature reimagined for modern readers.
