Ms. Hen reviews Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah

Volume 4 of In Search of Lost Time

Marcel Proust

1921

Translated from the French by John Sturrock

2002

Ms. Hen read the first three volumes of IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME years ago, before she had her blog. She read the third volume on her Kindle in France, and she didn't like reading it on her Kindle, but she enjoyed that she had the opportunity to do so in France. She decided to read volume four, because she does not like light summer reading, she believes that longer daylight calls for heavy books, since she has more energy when the sun is out.

Ms. Hen read 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, and a great quote about this book appears there:

“How about Proust's In Search of Lost Time?" Tamaru asked. "If you've never read it this would be a good opportunity to read the whole thing."

"Have you read it?"

"No, I haven't been in jail, or had to hide out for a long time. Someone once said unless you have those kinds of opportunities, you can't read the whole of Proust.”

It's a long book, and it takes time to read. But Ms. Hen doesn't think a person should read the whole thing at once.

This novel is a continuation of the last three. The narrator, in the beginning of this volume, is observing men who are attracted to men, and women who are attracted to women. The first section is a party, and it's full of snobs who insult everyone they can. Afterwards, the narrator goes to Balbec, to the seaside, and observes the girls there, and falls in love with all of them. His romantic interest, Albertine, stays at the hotel, and he thinks she is attracted to a woman. Parties occur, and the people talk about everyone they know, and who is interesting, and who isn't. The narrator wants to break up with Albertine, and is jealous of everyone who speaks with her.

This novel is densely written, and Ms. Hen had a difficult time reading it. She took a seminar with a professor years ago, and he recommended only reading two pages of this every night before bedtime, but Ms. Hen thinks that if someone did that, it would take twenty-five years to read all the volumes. Ms. Hen might not live that long! She thinks the prose is dense like layered buttercream cake, and must be consumed slowly, but deliberately, so the reader does not get a headache, or a stomachache. 

Ms. Hen believes the reason readers still love these books is because they portray people the way they truly are: brutal and petty and jealous and rotten, with selfish needs and narrow views. The narrator wants to hurt the one he loves, but he doesn't know what he truly desires. The best novels and stories do not lose their shine over time, because humanity never changes - society changes, and societal norms, but humans are always the same.

Ms. Hen will take a break before she reads the next volume. She thoroughly enjoyed this, but it's a huge chunk to chew and swallow, and the days are getting shorter now, and Ms. Hen needs to rest her feathers.