Swann's Way

Reading Proust's great work, REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST, may be daunting, but listening--at least to the first part of the seven-section novel (albeit abridged) -- is a riveting experience, an insightful, often funny, poetical exploration of character, place, emotion and idea. In SWANN'S WAY, the young narrator recalls the elaborate social etiquette and conventions among Combray's first families. Neville Jason is a master at characterizing the multitude of voices and guides us seamlessly through time. After such a short, yet exquisite, sampling of this classic, we are tantalized and long to continue. J.H.L. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

May 1, 2012

This is a new recording of C.K. Scott Moncrieff's translation of the first book in Proust's early 20th-century, seven-volume French classic Remembrance of Things Past (A la Recherche du Temps Perdu). Read today mostly by students, it is a careful and deliberate examination of human feelings and interactions. Narrator Neville Jason has a beautiful voice, but his pace is extremely slow, even when compared with that of the far-from-speedy John Rowe (17 CDs vs. nine CDs), who voiced the older BBC production. This is a major disadvantage when listening to such a long text. VERDICT While an audiobook of this work will be enjoyed by lovers of European classics and should be part of all academic and large public library collections, if there is a choice, the faster Rowe recording is preferred.--I. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll., Boone, IA

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