In Search of Lost Time Volume IV Sodom and Gomorrah (Modern Library Classics)

… or is he simply a restorative balm rubbed over the synapses which stimulates a recall of the days of yore, before TV, before the “digital age,” when one would take a postprandial stroll to the Pré Catalan, greet the neighbors along the way, and think, if not talk, in sentences featuring ten to twenty subordinate clauses? Nary a smartphone in sight; people paid visits; people were “in” on certain days to entertain. After a two year hiatus, I found myself able to once again enter, and be enthralled in the Proustian world that is now more than half complete.Homosexuality. A new theme, which is strongly woven throughout this volume. The volume’s title suggests it, and leaving nothing to chance, Proust commences the volume with a quote from Alfred de Vigny: “The women shall have Gomorrah, and the men shall have Sodom.” And then he jumps right in with a straightforward and frank depiction of the Baron, M. de Charlus, having a relationship with the ex-tailor, Jupien. M. de Charlus is greying, middle aged, rotund, and has some francs in his pocket, which facilitates the next youthful conquest of someone from the working classes. Is Jupien a courtesan, and is he “spurned” when the next conquest occurs? Much later on in this volume, M. de Charlus is taking his latest “conquest,” Morel, a violinist in the Army, to the “salons,” but deludes himself into thinking virtually no one suspects his proclivities. Proust, as is his style, spends pages describing how most others know.And then there is the Gomorrah aspect. The narrator continues his “I need you, I don’t need you” relationship with Albertine. Dr. Cottard and the narrator watch Albertine and a woman friend, Andrees, dancing chest to chest. Cottard suggests that perhaps Albertine is having a lesbian affair. Throughout the rest of the volume, it is an idea that the narrator cannot get out of his head. What if your rival is not another man, but a woman, and furthermore, she satisfies your girlfriend more than you can? Enough to stir some deep-rooted insecurities. Of the many terms by which homosexuals are identified by, Proust uses a term I had never heard before: “inverted.”This volume is placed in the heart of the pre-World War I “Belle Epoque.” As with other volumes, there are the intense, and naturally lengthy descriptions of the salons of high society life. Who is invited. Who is snubbed. Alfred Dreyfus has a dominating presence in these salons. Swann, for one, believes in his innocence, but probably would not take the “risk” of signing a petition in his defense. Or, as Proust puts it: “…whatever opinion one might hold in one’s heart of hearts as to his guilt, constituted a sort of thank-offering for the manner in which one had been received in the Faubourg Saint-Germaine.” That “thank you” meant overlooking the sentencing of an innocent man in order to support the “glory” of the Army. Plus ca change…There is a 100-page section on just one gathering of the “select clan” of insiders at La Raspeliere, which is the salon of the Verdurins, high on the cliffs overlooking the sea in Normandy. Proust dazzles with descriptions such as: “…while the sea, gently rising, with the unfurling of each wave completely buried in layers of crystal the melody whose phrases appeared to be separated from one another like those angels lutanists which on the roof of an Italian cathedral rise between the pinnacles of blue porphyry and foaming jasper.” Proust devotes pages to the etymologies of place names in Normandy. In another section, Proust devotes pages to a hotel employee given to the repeated use of malapropisms – the translation of which into English was an impressive feat by the translator. Pages? Yes. There is an equally long section on the ramification(s) of giving the elevator boy a tip, and the amount. Proust even states that an entire novel could be written about Morel’s “downward glance.” The reader knows that he is deeply enmeshed in Proust’s world when such a comment makes perfect sense.In terms of depiction of life during the Third Republic, my natural inclinations favor Marcel Pagnol, and how I still long for those hikes near Aubagne. What on earth am I doing reading about the social climbing and pecking orders of the various “titled,” and truly idle rich? Furthermore, I found some historical inaccuracies in depicting the Dreyfus affair in conjunction with the renting of motor cars and the overflight of airplanes.But then Proust, and it can be only Proust, answers with passages such as the following: “…similarly the female flower that stood here would coquettishly arch her ‘style’ if the insect came, and, to be more effectively penetrated by him, would imperceptibly advance, like a hypocritical but ardent damsel, to meet him half-way.” For only Proust understands that the essential complement to an Aubagne hike is an ardent damsel, a quaint expression that resonates through the ages, from “Proust time” to now. 5-stars

This is a really hard book to get through. I was not a fan.

In this volume Proust's novel takes a sophisticated turn, after which all narratives and people change radically.

Deep, historical, repetitive, novel that is often difficult to understand

Awesome book, no problems with delivery.

Proust!, settle down and learn . One of the all time great authors.

Totally disappointed in this book. Not a Bible story by any means. Bought it thinking it was about Sodom & Gamorah

The naming of the British books makes it very confusing as to which volume is which. A previous review said that this is volume 5, but it is in fact volume 4: Sodom and Gomorrah.

his is volume four of Marcel Proust’s, “In Search of Lost Time.” I assume that, if you have made it this far, that you intend to read to the end – however, if you are thinking of starting this and have not read the earlier books, then do please begin at volume one. This is not a literary experience to be rushed and you need to read these volumes in order.The first volume concentrates largely on childhood memories, while volume two and three looks at society and status. Here, though, the narrator turns his attention to more daring and explicit themes; including forbidden and jealous love. In fact, jealousy is a theme which runs through this whole series; from Swann and Odette to his obsessive desire for Gilberte. Now we have his infatuation with Albertine and also the viewed lives of other characters; dissected with sharp clarity and laid bare. Indeed, the book begins with the narrator witnessing a hurried encounter between Jupien and Baron de Charlus in his courtyard and Charlus prowls through the pages of this book as we encounter him again and again. As for our narrator, there are late night, frantic desires to see Albertine, desires for her friend, Andree and sudden wishes to be free of the restraints of his feelings, while almost clinging to the distress he causes himself.Again, there are musings on the narrator’s beloved grandmother, his relationship with his mother and with those around him. There is also the return of the Verdurins and their clique, which the narrator becomes involved in. He spends time at Balbec, before returning to Paris at the end of this volume. However, it not so much what happens, but how Proust writes about it which is what makes these works so powerful. His writing is lyrical, beautiful and, despite the passing of time, all too understandable. We have all experienced these feelings of jealousy, desire and these aspects of human nature and behaviour and, through understanding them, sympathise with the people who come alive within these pages. I am glad I finally got around to reading, “In Search of Lost Time,” and look forward to reading on.

The book has some wonderful passages of the description of nature. It even has humour! But the lengthy social gatherings often are tedious. The descriptions of male and female sexuality are surprising for France at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. But Proust himself was undoubtedly surprising! He also produces a dramatic final sentence. Two more books to go!

Superbly written and translated. People shd know it's also very funny.

still loving it

Excellent series