Proust in Translation

[Big Al]

I'm looking for advice about what translations of Proust's "In Remembrance of Lost Time" are the best. Obviously this is completely subjective, but it would still be a terrific starting point for me.

[country doctor]

i'm working my way through this translation, on volume two right now and am going to start the second story. i think these are the latest translations and the first volume was smooth. don't know if that will help you, but i don't think you'd go wrong with these.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=in+search+of+lost+time+penguin+classics+d eluxe+edition

btw, what's up with no proust section amongst the authors? that's why i headed to this site anyways tonite. reading volume two and wanting to get some feedback. no proust? what's up with that?

[Th11z_Z0mb13]

guys check out my plz help thread

[Bumbeli]

Maybe this can help
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41169

[promtbr]

Having now made my way through roughly 20% of "The Search", I like the the current Modern Library's 6 volume version. The text has been extensively researched and revised from the Moncrief/Kilmartin translation. It is an amazing read. There is a wonderful "introduction" at the beginning of Volume I , Swann's Way , introducing Proust to his modern reader, and warning Proust that the modern reader tends to be in hurry. I have taken the advice and try to take a deep breath occasionally...after a 2 page paragraph. Actually, once one gets accustom to the flow of the multiple dependent clauses in the sentence, it is NOT difficult reading for the most part.

I recommend William Carters Biography Marcel Proust, A Life and Roger Shattuck's Proust's Way as an excellent readers guide and and critical overview.

Every 4th page I encounter a sentence that just floors me. I have not encountered anything like it since reading some of Shakespeare's plays. Also at times the narrative is subtley really funny, his genuis extends to to the comedic.

[country doctor]

Also at times the narrative is subtley really funny, his genuis extends to to the comedic.

i agree that there are some very witty parts in swann's way. (i'm just working through the second volume.)
proust was a sickly mama's boy, but even mama's boys can sometimes have hawkeyes when it comes to observing human nature. one of the strengths of the book, for sure. also, the 'remembrances' of a sickly man who has surely seen his better days is what i think many of us go through on a daily basis to a lesser extent (based on our health) once we get into our 40's. looking backwards seems to take up alot of our time.
so far, the character i enjoy the most is the grandmother. she's got the spunk that unfortunately for proust he was never to have. you can feel her energy come off the pages. a lively grandma is a treasure. (and, she adores proust.)