Thursday 13 December 2012
Dead forever?
Well, we had our last meeting yesterday and it was good to wrap things up after a year of reading Proust together. Not everyone is quite done, but most of our stalwarts are very close to completion. And much like Bergotte's life after death through his books, the Proust Reading Group will live on in our oh-so-sensitive hearts. More accurately, we will also have a celebratory movie night in the new year to watch Raul Ruiz's Time Regained. The exact date is to be determined, but we were thinking around the first week of February. If you'd like to attend, leave a message here and I'll be sure to get you more details as they become available.
Tuesday 11 December 2012
Last meeting!
Hard to believe that it's already been a year since we set forth on our task to read In Search of Lost Time in its entirety back in January. Not everyone made it, but it's pretty impressive that a core group of us is nearing the finish line, if not having already completed the task. So it is with mixed emotions that I say that tomorrow, Dec. 12, is our last meeting! We will complete discussion of Time Regained and the novel as a whole, and perhaps plan a celebratory movie night in the new year to cap things off. Hope to see you tomorrow!
Tuesday 27 November 2012
Nov. 28 meeting
Hello, everyone! I just want to let you know that I will not be able to attend the meeting tomorrow night as I have to work. I'm disappointed because we'll be discussing some of my favourite passages in the first half of Time Regained, such as the litany of prose following the narrator's episode on the uneven paving stones. Those passages are some of my favourites not just in Proust, but in all of literature.
Anyway, have a good meeting and I will be back for our very last meeting on December 12. See you then!
Anyway, have a good meeting and I will be back for our very last meeting on December 12. See you then!
Thursday 15 November 2012
Nov. 14 meeting
Hello, everyone! As you may know, I was unable to attend the meeting last night as I was stuck on the other side of town and unable to get in touch with anyone. I hope that the meeting was a good one, though, and feel free to add a comment here about any interesting discussion.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 29. I assume we'll be discussing Time Regained, but let me know where you are in your reading.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 29. I assume we'll be discussing Time Regained, but let me know where you are in your reading.
Wednesday 24 October 2012
No meeting on Oct. 31
Hello, everyone! I just wanted to add a note to let everyone know that there will be no meeting on the next scheduled date, October 31. Those of us at the last meeting decided that we would rather do something slightly more spooky on Halloween than discussing Proust, so we will take the week off and reconvene on November 14 when we will finish up lingering discussion on the Albertine cycle and dive right into We're almost there!
Wednesday 10 October 2012
Update!
I apologize for falling behind on this blog. What can I say? I'm not the best blogger, that's for sure. If anyone would like to contribute any posts, I can add you as an editor and then perhaps this blog will have more content. Please let me know if you would like to be added as an editor.
At the last meeting, we decided that we could probably finish The Fugitive by October 31, which would give us two more meetings to discuss the Albertine cycle (The Captive and The Fugitive). After that, we can jump into the final volume and finish up by our potentially last meeting on December 12. I don't want to push it any closer to the holidays, as that's a busy time of year for everyone, but perhaps we can also plan an end-of-year party/movie viewing for the group. Stay tuned and see you on October 17!
At the last meeting, we decided that we could probably finish The Fugitive by October 31, which would give us two more meetings to discuss the Albertine cycle (The Captive and The Fugitive). After that, we can jump into the final volume and finish up by our potentially last meeting on December 12. I don't want to push it any closer to the holidays, as that's a busy time of year for everyone, but perhaps we can also plan an end-of-year party/movie viewing for the group. Stay tuned and see you on October 17!
Wednesday 1 August 2012
August vacation
Hey, everyone! I just want to let you know that there will be no meeting on August 8th as our meeting space at the Strathcona Library is being taken over by the Fringe Festival for the month of August.
We will meet on August 22nd, though, for a Proust movie night. We will watch Swann in Love at Brad's house, so please get in touch if you need his address. After that, we will be back to our regular meeting schedule at our regular meeting location. We just finished discussing Sodom and Gomorrah at the last meeting so continue on with volume five, The Captive. Or The Prisoner, depending on which translation you have.
See you later!
We will meet on August 22nd, though, for a Proust movie night. We will watch Swann in Love at Brad's house, so please get in touch if you need his address. After that, we will be back to our regular meeting schedule at our regular meeting location. We just finished discussing Sodom and Gomorrah at the last meeting so continue on with volume five, The Captive. Or The Prisoner, depending on which translation you have.
See you later!
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Interesting article
Hey, everyone! I came across this article at the Washington Post in honour of Proust's birthday on July 10th. It's a pretty amusing take on the self-congratulatory joys of reading Proust and made me laugh a bit.
Also, out next meeting will be on Wednesday, July 25th, at which time we'll wrap up discussion of Sodom and Gomorrah before possibly taking a break in August. We won't be meeting at the Strathcona Library in August, anyway, and will likely have a movie night in late August to watch the Jeremy Irons film, Swann in Love. It remains to be seen if we will meet in early August or take a well-deserved summer break. We'll decide at the next meeting and I'll be sure to post the news here.
Also, out next meeting will be on Wednesday, July 25th, at which time we'll wrap up discussion of Sodom and Gomorrah before possibly taking a break in August. We won't be meeting at the Strathcona Library in August, anyway, and will likely have a movie night in late August to watch the Jeremy Irons film, Swann in Love. It remains to be seen if we will meet in early August or take a well-deserved summer break. We'll decide at the next meeting and I'll be sure to post the news here.
Wednesday 27 June 2012
June 27 meeting
Hey, everyone! Just another reminder that I won't be at tonight's meeting but please feel free to add any comments about the discussion from tonight's meeting or the previous meeting to this post. See you on July 11th!
Tuesday 5 June 2012
May 30 meeting
Hello, everyone! Before I get to the May 30th meeting, there are some house-keeping items to take care of. We have our meeting room at the Strathcona branch of the Edmonton Public Library booked for the rest of the year with the exception of August. The meeting room will not be available for that entire month because of the Fringe Festival, which uses library space to mount performances. Therefore, we'll either have to take August off or come up with an alternate meeting place.
Second, I will not be able to attend the next two meetings (June 13 and June 27). There shouldn't be a problem with the meeting space, though. If there is, just explain to the library clerk that we have the space booked for the appropriate time but do not have a contract as the dates were sorted out and booked months in advance.
Ok, as for the meeting. We finished discussing The Guermantes Way, which is longest volume in the novel and thus took us forever to get through. The last section of the volume features a very long dinner party scene which is as exasperating to the narrator as perhaps it is to the reader. Once again, we see that all that glitters is not gold and that the world of the Faubourg Saint-Germain ultimately proves dissatisfying and facile to the narrator.
Other topics of discussion revolved around the masterful "red shoes" scene, in which Oriane and Basin downplay the news that Swann is dying so as not to be inconvenienced on their way to a party. For me, the final line in the volume is as devastating as the final line in the "Swann in Love" section of Swann's Way; is this an intentional parallel? Where once Swann was the heartless dismisser of another, now he is being dismissed?
Anyway, time to move on to Sodom and Gomorrah, which we will discuss the beginning of at the next meeting.
Second, I will not be able to attend the next two meetings (June 13 and June 27). There shouldn't be a problem with the meeting space, though. If there is, just explain to the library clerk that we have the space booked for the appropriate time but do not have a contract as the dates were sorted out and booked months in advance.
Ok, as for the meeting. We finished discussing The Guermantes Way, which is longest volume in the novel and thus took us forever to get through. The last section of the volume features a very long dinner party scene which is as exasperating to the narrator as perhaps it is to the reader. Once again, we see that all that glitters is not gold and that the world of the Faubourg Saint-Germain ultimately proves dissatisfying and facile to the narrator.
Other topics of discussion revolved around the masterful "red shoes" scene, in which Oriane and Basin downplay the news that Swann is dying so as not to be inconvenienced on their way to a party. For me, the final line in the volume is as devastating as the final line in the "Swann in Love" section of Swann's Way; is this an intentional parallel? Where once Swann was the heartless dismisser of another, now he is being dismissed?
Anyway, time to move on to Sodom and Gomorrah, which we will discuss the beginning of at the next meeting.
Thursday 17 May 2012
May 16 meeting
Hey, everyone! I'm back on track with these blog updates (hopefully). What can I say? I am a poor blogger.
Anyway, last night's meeting covered a good chunk of The Guermantes Way. Topics ranged from the salon at Mme de Villeparisis's house through the death of the narrator's grandmother with a bit more from later in the book sprinkled in. Not everyone has finished the volume though, so we'll wrap up discussion of The Guermantes Way on May 30.
We spent a good deal of time talking about Proust's narrative choices and his propensity to sabotage his own narrative climaxes, or what would be highpoints in other novels. He often focuses on the mundane and completely brushes over major developments (with some exceptions). We discussed how this is a deliberate attempt to re-calibrate how the reader thinks of narrative structure and novels in general. One example of this is with the grandmother's death. The first chapter of section two actually starts off with a brief summary of coming events, which is the first time that that very 19th century device pops up. It's odd that it pops up then because it gives away the death of the grandmother, which is the sort of a plot point that might be used as a surprise in the hands of a different author. But it's as if Proust is deliberately undermining our expectations.
Beyond that, we discussed the narrator's realization that Charlus is not who he thought he was and perhaps might be rather unhinged, as his bizarre comments regarding the Bloch family show. We also talked about the masterful passage of the grandmother's death and what it says about social attitudes toward death.
Also, we talked about the La Pléiade edition of Proust, which is seen as the definitive version. La Pléiade is a series published by Gallimard that seeks to compile the complete works of major figures in French literature. The Pléiade edition of any particular work is seen to be the definitive version and often compiles annotations and criticism as well as the original texts. So there you go!
Anyway, last night's meeting covered a good chunk of The Guermantes Way. Topics ranged from the salon at Mme de Villeparisis's house through the death of the narrator's grandmother with a bit more from later in the book sprinkled in. Not everyone has finished the volume though, so we'll wrap up discussion of The Guermantes Way on May 30.
We spent a good deal of time talking about Proust's narrative choices and his propensity to sabotage his own narrative climaxes, or what would be highpoints in other novels. He often focuses on the mundane and completely brushes over major developments (with some exceptions). We discussed how this is a deliberate attempt to re-calibrate how the reader thinks of narrative structure and novels in general. One example of this is with the grandmother's death. The first chapter of section two actually starts off with a brief summary of coming events, which is the first time that that very 19th century device pops up. It's odd that it pops up then because it gives away the death of the grandmother, which is the sort of a plot point that might be used as a surprise in the hands of a different author. But it's as if Proust is deliberately undermining our expectations.
Beyond that, we discussed the narrator's realization that Charlus is not who he thought he was and perhaps might be rather unhinged, as his bizarre comments regarding the Bloch family show. We also talked about the masterful passage of the grandmother's death and what it says about social attitudes toward death.
Also, we talked about the La Pléiade edition of Proust, which is seen as the definitive version. La Pléiade is a series published by Gallimard that seeks to compile the complete works of major figures in French literature. The Pléiade edition of any particular work is seen to be the definitive version and often compiles annotations and criticism as well as the original texts. So there you go!
Monday 14 May 2012
Falling behind!
I have been woefully inept at keeping this blog up to date, so my apologies! We will be having a meeting this Wednesday, though, and should be approximately 3/4 of the way through The Guermantes Way. I promise to post an update from this week's meeting. Hope to see you there!
Tuesday 10 April 2012
April 4 meeting
At the meeting on the 4th, we finally finished up In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower. It was a long slog, but everyone enjoyed the second volume of the novel very much; it certainly did have a lot going on.
In our wrap-up of this volume, we discussed the differences between the first and second halves of Place-Names: The Place (such as the narrator's intense attachment to his grandmother and fleeting desire for passing girls and how that shifted to his infatuation for the little band and Elstir), the use of food as metaphor and descriptors (which becomes as prevalent as or even more than flowers), the narrator's ridiculous scheming to be introduced to the little band of girls, the narrator's meeting of Elstir and Elstir as the latest creative figure that mentors or influences the narrator (adding to Vinteuil, Berma, and Bergotte), the appearance of functionaries such as waiters and valets throughout the novel, and the narrator's deliberate attempts to find beauty in the unexplored or over-looked.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, April 18 and we will focus on the first 150 or so pages of the third volume, The Guermantes Way.
In our wrap-up of this volume, we discussed the differences between the first and second halves of Place-Names: The Place (such as the narrator's intense attachment to his grandmother and fleeting desire for passing girls and how that shifted to his infatuation for the little band and Elstir), the use of food as metaphor and descriptors (which becomes as prevalent as or even more than flowers), the narrator's ridiculous scheming to be introduced to the little band of girls, the narrator's meeting of Elstir and Elstir as the latest creative figure that mentors or influences the narrator (adding to Vinteuil, Berma, and Bergotte), the appearance of functionaries such as waiters and valets throughout the novel, and the narrator's deliberate attempts to find beauty in the unexplored or over-looked.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, April 18 and we will focus on the first 150 or so pages of the third volume, The Guermantes Way.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
March 21 meeting
During our most recent meeting, we discussed the first half of Place-Names: The Place, which is the second section of In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower. Specifically, we discussed the introduction of two key characters in Saint-Loup and the Baron de Charlus and why Saint-Loup was initially so cold to the narrator.
We also discussed the swarms of secondary characters that flutter about the Grand Hotel of Balbec, including the young actressed who inhabit a sort of human aquarium, eating their meals in the large windows overlooking the beach but completely immune to the charms of the seaside. There they sit as an exhibit in upper class insouciance for the "human ichthyologists" (i.e. people walking by who can look in the window to see them) study the lifestyle that will always be out of their reach.
Other Grand Hotel characters under discussion were the lift operator and the hotel's manager, Aimé. Proust is very keen on filling his world with these sorts of functionaries and we will see the narrative develop with several connections created by such figures.
At our next meeting (which will be on Wednesday, April 4), we will finish discussing In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower so if you can, try to finish that volume. See you then!
We also discussed the swarms of secondary characters that flutter about the Grand Hotel of Balbec, including the young actressed who inhabit a sort of human aquarium, eating their meals in the large windows overlooking the beach but completely immune to the charms of the seaside. There they sit as an exhibit in upper class insouciance for the "human ichthyologists" (i.e. people walking by who can look in the window to see them) study the lifestyle that will always be out of their reach.
Other Grand Hotel characters under discussion were the lift operator and the hotel's manager, Aimé. Proust is very keen on filling his world with these sorts of functionaries and we will see the narrative develop with several connections created by such figures.
At our next meeting (which will be on Wednesday, April 4), we will finish discussing In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower so if you can, try to finish that volume. See you then!
Tuesday 20 March 2012
Portraits of Proust characters
Sean pointed out this really neat blog that is compiling original portraits of various characters (major, minor, and everything in between) found throughout In Search of Lost Time. Very enjoyable blog, but perhaps you will prefer your own perceptions of these characters nonetheless.
Anyway, our next meeting is tomorrow (March 21) so I will see you then!
Anyway, our next meeting is tomorrow (March 21) so I will see you then!
Tuesday 13 March 2012
March 7 meeting
This past meeting was another engaging session! Brad announced that he ordered and received the DVD of Swann in Love, so we will plan a viewing of that in April or May. We also continued our discussion of the second volume of In Search of Lost Time, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower. Within that volume, we mostly concentrated on the first section with some discussion of the second section, Place-Names: The Place.
Specifically, we discussed parallels between the first and second volumes, how Odette has become more sympathetic or at least more fleshed-out in the second volume, the beauty of Proust's prose (especially in his descriptions of Odette's wardrobe on her walks in the Bois due Boulogne), and some matters of historical context (such as the significance of the Faubourg Saint-Germain).
Our next meeting will be on March 14 and we will be discussing Place-Names: The Place and the narrator's eventful excursion to Balbec.
Specifically, we discussed parallels between the first and second volumes, how Odette has become more sympathetic or at least more fleshed-out in the second volume, the beauty of Proust's prose (especially in his descriptions of Odette's wardrobe on her walks in the Bois due Boulogne), and some matters of historical context (such as the significance of the Faubourg Saint-Germain).
Our next meeting will be on March 14 and we will be discussing Place-Names: The Place and the narrator's eventful excursion to Balbec.
Thursday 1 March 2012
Feb. 25 meeting
I was unfortunately unable to attend our last meeting, but luckily Sean took some notes on what was discussed and passed them on to me to post here. Looks like it was once again a pretty thought-provoking meeting and I'm sorry that I couldn't attend. As Sean writes, the topics of discussion were:
-Proust's sense of humor in many sections, e.g. King Theodosious character (who is actually a Roman emperor who banned homosexuality)
-The place-name section serving as a bridge between Swann in Love and the next volume
-The change in the point of view of narrator from volume one to two
-"Multiple Swanns" - Swann from the point of view of young Marcel, vs. slightly older Marcel, etc.
-How we are experiencing reading the book - higher tolerance for longer sentences - "breaks" from very long descriptions make reading on easier
-We spent lots of time talking about the visit at Marcel's house from M. Norpois, and his initial encouragement of Marcel's literary career, and later his criticism of his admiration of Bergotte
-We also got into an interesting discussion of Marcel's experience at Phedre - how his expectations were higher of Berma than what he saw, but that he changes his mind after talking to M. Norpois
-Another interesting point brought up by MC is that Proust seems to be playing with the formation of an aesthetic theory throughout the novel
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 7 at the same place/time (7pm at the Strathcona Library meeting room). I hope to see you there!
-Proust's sense of humor in many sections, e.g. King Theodosious character (who is actually a Roman emperor who banned homosexuality)
-The place-name section serving as a bridge between Swann in Love and the next volume
-The change in the point of view of narrator from volume one to two
-"Multiple Swanns" - Swann from the point of view of young Marcel, vs. slightly older Marcel, etc.
-How we are experiencing reading the book - higher tolerance for longer sentences - "breaks" from very long descriptions make reading on easier
-We spent lots of time talking about the visit at Marcel's house from M. Norpois, and his initial encouragement of Marcel's literary career, and later his criticism of his admiration of Bergotte
-We also got into an interesting discussion of Marcel's experience at Phedre - how his expectations were higher of Berma than what he saw, but that he changes his mind after talking to M. Norpois
-Another interesting point brought up by MC is that Proust seems to be playing with the formation of an aesthetic theory throughout the novel
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 7 at the same place/time (7pm at the Strathcona Library meeting room). I hope to see you there!
Friday 10 February 2012
Feb. 8 meeting
Time for another reading group update. At this week's meeting, we discussed the second half of Swann in Love and a little bit about the last section of Swann's Way, Place-Names: The Name. In particular, we talked about the influence of art and music on Proust, his use of synesthesia as a device, the peculiarities of Swann, the constant redefinitions and revisions of characters found throughout Swann in Love, and the painful identification with Swann that many of us felt (for better or worse).
As far as music goes, check out this blog entry about Vinteuil's sontata. There's also this bit of information about the source of the sonata over at Temps Perdu. Lastly, we talked about the chronology of the novel and how it does get confusing. Have no fear as Temps Perdu also provides us with a rough chronology and some contextual thoughts.
The next meeting will be at the Strathcona Library on Wednesday, Feb. 22. See you then!
As far as music goes, check out this blog entry about Vinteuil's sontata. There's also this bit of information about the source of the sonata over at Temps Perdu. Lastly, we talked about the chronology of the novel and how it does get confusing. Have no fear as Temps Perdu also provides us with a rough chronology and some contextual thoughts.
The next meeting will be at the Strathcona Library on Wednesday, Feb. 22. See you then!
Monday 30 January 2012
Jan. 25 meeting
I'm pleased to report that two new members of the reading group came out for our latest meeting, expanding our numbers and bringing a wealth of insight to Proust that will assuredly be beneficial for everyone. This week we delved further into Swann's Way, discussing in particular the significance of the "two ways" (Swann's Way and the Guermantes Way), the lesbian scene between Mlle. Vinteuil and her young friend, and the beginning of "Swann in Love," which included the introduction of Vinteuil's "little phrase" and the "little clan" surrounding the Verdurin salon. Needless to say, there was a lot of important material introduced from our last session.
Other topics included the important of John Ruskin and Henri Bergson on Proust's intellectual development, differences in translation between all of the various versions of In Search of Lost Time that group members are reading, and the shift in narrative voice from first-person to third-person in "Swann in Love." Am I forgetting anything else?
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, Feb. 8 in the meeting room of the Strathcona Library at 7 o'clock. We'll still be discussing Swann's Way. See you then!
Other topics included the important of John Ruskin and Henri Bergson on Proust's intellectual development, differences in translation between all of the various versions of In Search of Lost Time that group members are reading, and the shift in narrative voice from first-person to third-person in "Swann in Love." Am I forgetting anything else?
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, Feb. 8 in the meeting room of the Strathcona Library at 7 o'clock. We'll still be discussing Swann's Way. See you then!
Thursday 12 January 2012
First meeting
Thanks to everyone who came out; I think we're going to have a highly enjoyable time reading and discussing Proust together! Not much to say just yet as our first meeting was mostly introductory with a bit of discussion on what we have read so far (which mostly revolved around the themes of the novel that have been introduced thus far, the characters, and the highly unique prose style).
We're going to keep a pace of about 10 pages a day, so for our next meeting (Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7 o'clock in the meeting room of the Strathcona Library) everyone should be roughly 250 pages into Swann's Way. Try to keep track of your favourite passages or topics you would like to discuss for next time. Also keep an eye out for passages that you feel might be worded differently in the original French or in another English translation and we can compare at the next meeting.
Take care!
We're going to keep a pace of about 10 pages a day, so for our next meeting (Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7 o'clock in the meeting room of the Strathcona Library) everyone should be roughly 250 pages into Swann's Way. Try to keep track of your favourite passages or topics you would like to discuss for next time. Also keep an eye out for passages that you feel might be worded differently in the original French or in another English translation and we can compare at the next meeting.
Take care!
Friday 6 January 2012
First meeting, Jan. 11
The first meeting of the Proust reading group is coming up next week on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The meeting will be held in the meeting room of the Strathcona branch of the Edmonton Public Library (8331 104 Street) at 7 o'clock. Hope to see you there!
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