Swann's Way

By: Marcel Proust

Narrated by: Neville Jason

Swann's Way is the first part of Marcel Proust's monumental, seven volume Remembrance of Things Past. Here, Proust's vision, psychological understanding and vivid powers of description combine to create one of the most poetic and magical works in all literature. For lovers of the original text there are new delights to be found in this audiobook version, while those discovering the work for the first time may be surprised to find it so accessible.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©1995 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd. (P)1995 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.

How it all began

Swanns Way is in fact the first book of the seven-volume In Search of Lost Time / Rememberances. In this abridged audiobook version, it is only the first part of book one, with Swann in Love comprising the second part. It is beautifully narrated by Neville Jason. The books starts very slowly. At the best of times Proust is an unhurried author, who delights in ordinary events, but the opening of this book is Proust at his most sluggish. Please do not let that put you off. Your perseverance will be rewarded by some of the most wonderful writing, which is really special, given that this is, of course, a translation from the French.

Every moment comes alive

In the movie THE HOURS everybody feels their lives are trivial, so they jump out of windows, etc. What they really needed was to read (or, even better, listen to, Proust). Proust puts the magic in all the trivial bits that make up our lives. He enobles them; we take dignity from them. Where Buddhism teaches "mindfulness", the awareness of each feature of each moment, and the understanding that it will never be repeated just that way again, the rest of us have Proust.
Normally I require a plot in any book I read, but with Proust it's different. We live his life in minute detail. So accurately does he dissect every emotion, reveal every motivation and explore every ramification that we become him. We no more need a plot in this book than we need one in our own lives. Instead we take from his example the ability to see in our own trivial moments the glimmer of literature.
One caveat: It is a pity to abridge this book. There is an unabridged version on the market--expensive, but maybe worth it.

Not bad

This book was a bit too wordy for me. I do love period pieces, and Proust does describe a situation in full detail. But his descriptions are sometimes so long that one forgets what he was talking about in the first place. The narrator does do a wonderful job of the different voices, bring the book to life making it feel almost like a play rather than an audio book.

YES, YES, YES!

I could not keep the smile off of my face while listening to this book. The narrator WAS THE BEST. He reminded me of when I was a child and watched the wonderful black and white classics on TV that you just don't see today. This was the most innovative, entertaining, and refreshingly old style listen I have had so far. But the way it lifted my spirit was what impressed me the most.

As good as it gets

I, too, was a little timid about approaching a work known as a landmark of twentieth-century fiction. After all, are not twentieth-century landmarks marked by denseness, complexity, obscurity? A la Joyce, Faulkner, Beckett? Imagine my surprise to find Remembrance fully and easily appproachable; and beyond its mere approachability, it is also a book that satisfies on every level.

For me, the work is marked by the details with which Proust fills every scene, describes every emotion. In a lesser writer, these details might become tedious; in Proust, they are the stuff of life itself. In his hands, turn-of-the-century France, the characters he populates it with, and most important, his own emotional landscape, come fully alive.

Add to this Neville Jason, perhaps the best narrator I've ever heard. His impeccable diction is a pleasure to listen to; and the distinct voice with which he interprets each character is simply amazing acting. All in all, the best recorded book I?ve ever heard. If only we had the complete book!