Marcel Proust, Edmund White
Marcel Proust, Edmund White
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Marcel Proust

Author: Edmund White

Narrator: David Case

Unabridged: 4 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/13/1999

Synopsis

Considered one of the greatest—and most influential—writers of the twentieth century, Marcel Proust was also one of its most fascinating figures. A strange, reclusive genius who often lay in bed for days at a time obsessively rewriting his masterpiece, Remembrance of Things Past, Proust was at other times a tireless socialite, attending the grandest parties and dazzling guests with his vivacity and wit. But as a boy Proust was yearning and lonely, an ambitious grasper after honors, and a miserably closeted homosexual, an aspect of his life that this book explores frankly and perceptively.
 
“White has a novelist’s eye for the telling detail or the remarkable phrase.”—New York Times Book Review

About The Author

Edmund White was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1940. His fiction includes the autobiographical trilogy A Boy’s Own Story, The Beautiful Room Is Empty, and The Farewell Symphony, as well as Caracole, Forgetting Elena, Nocturnes for the King of Naples, and Skinned Alive, a collection of short stories. He is also the author of a highly acclaimed biography of Jean Genet, a short study of Proust, a travel book about gay America—States of Desire—and Our Paris. He is an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and teaches at Princeton University. He lives in New York City.David Case was a distinguished narrator who recorded over 700 audiobooks, was nominated for a Grammy, and received numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards.

Reviews

Goodreads review by David on August 29, 2014

I love Proust, but I typically do not enjoy reading biographies. Perhaps it is because, like Proust, I mostly disagree with Sainte-Beuve's opinion that an artist's art is great if his corresponding life is great, or perhaps it is because the life which I am most interested in is simply my own. I saw......more

Goodreads review by Jolanta (knygupė) on April 27, 2019

2.5 * Toks įspūdis, kad skaičiau ''Žmones'' ir "Literatūra ir menas'' viename. Trumputė ir popsinė vieno iš didžiausių dvidešimtojo amžiaus rašytojo biografija. Didžiausias dėmesys (?) - Prousto ir jo aplinkos homoseksualumui ir šio polinkio įtakai jo kūrybai. Kaip ir nieko įdomaus nesužinojau nei api......more

Goodreads review by George on July 09, 2023

A slim volume on the life and work of Marcel Proust: a supposed invalid who reclined in bed and yet became a prolific and enigmatic writer. Of course, one can easily spend one's entire life studying Proust and wallowing in the related Proustian industries, so a slim volume such as this one is all th......more

Goodreads review by Michael on December 23, 2016

This is kind of the express version of a Proust bio. If you don't want to invest the time in 1000+ pages from Tadié or the subjective account of Painter, and perhaps you are not sure if you wish to read La Recherche or not, this book might be a good way to start. Hopefully, it will make you want to......more

Goodreads review by Gabi on January 06, 2024

Nie dam więcej niż 4 gwiazdki, ale naprawdę dobra biografia. Zachwyciły mnie dobrze dobrane zdjęcia, które są trudne do znalezienia w internecie. Dowiedziałum się nowych rzeczy, poznałum kilka ciekawych historii. Jestem bardzo zadowolonu i przede wszystkim zmotywowanu do pisania. Nie czytałum tekstu......more

Quotes

"White has a novelist's eye for the telling detail or the remarkable phrase and, like Proust himself, concentrates upon the minutiae of the past so that it might live again. He has a wonderful sympathy with his subject, adduced in such reflections as ''Proust fancied that so long as he failed to begin his life's work, his life would go on.'' -- Peter Ackroyd, The New York Times Book Review

"White's deft prose is densely packed with information but never burdensome. He gives a good sense of why Proust's work is valuable, and why it remains eternally fresh." -- Washington Post

"A tale of twentieth-century literature 'par excellence' that White makes fun, accessible, and insightful."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer

"White's biography of Proust is a paragon of the genre; an engrossing and delightful piece of work."
-Norah Vincent, author of Self-Made Man

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