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Remembrance of Things Past cover art

Remembrance of Things Past

By: Marcel Proust, Scott Moncrieff - translator
Narrated by: John Rowe
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Summary

Exclusively from Audible

Swann's Way is Marcel Proust's literary masterpiece and the first part of the multivolume audiobook Remembrance of Things Past.

In the opening volume, the narrator travels back in time to recall his childhood and to introduce the listener to Charles Swann, a wealthy friend of the family and celebrity in the Parisian social scene. He again travels back, this time to the youth of Charles Swann in the French town of Combray, to tell the story of the love affair that took place before his own birth. The jealous love that Swann feels for the courtesan Odette, is a foretelling of the narrator's own future relationships.

Proust paints an unforgettable, scathing and at times comic portrait of French society at the close of the 19th century and reveals a profound vision of obsessive love. The remarkable details from his memory are the fundamental triumph of the audiobook; details like his younger self's desperate need for a goodnight kiss from his mother.

In 1922, Virginia Woolf marvelled, 'Oh if I could write like that!'

Many adaptations have been made of Swann's Way including the 1984 English language film, Swann in Love, starring Jeremy Irons, and a graphic novel by French comic artist Stéphane Heuet that was first published in 1998.

Narrator Biography

Whilst training at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, John Rowe did his first radio plays for the BBC before spending several years acting in repertory theatre. He then joined the BBC's Radio Drama Company at Broadcasting House and after a three year stint on stage with the Prospect Company at The Old Vic he became a committed radio actor. He is well known for his role as Professor Jim Lloyd in The Archers. He has not only worked extensively in radio but also in television and film, as well as narrating many audiobooks, including Within a Budding Grove by Marcel Proust. His film appearances have included The Heart of Me (2002) and Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001). He has most recently appeared on onscreen in the Netflix series The Crown (2016) and the BBC TV series Broken (2017).

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Remembrance of Things Past

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BY FAR THE BEST READING OF PROUST

What did you like most about Remembrance of Things Past?

I'd strongly recommend this edition as a great way into Proust's literary epic work - it's far easier to listen to and take in than the Neville Jason vserion. I would recommend this performance every bit as highly as Jim Norton's superlative reading of Joyce's Ulysses.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Narrator is never definitively named, but his account of growing up, learning about art, participating in society, and falling in love is the central narrative amid his observations of the huge cast of supporting chracters he candidly observes through the book.

What does John Rowe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I'd already bought the Neville Jason readings of the whole series, and found it pretty heavy going. But now, having heard the John Rowe version, it's clear that this was down to Mr Jason's rather pompous and dreary delivery. The text is pretty densely written, and pretty hard to take in on the page. But John Rowe brings it to life brllliantly with this natural-sounding reading - just compare the audio samples from the different versions and you'll hear the difference for yourself.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

You couldn't possibly listen to Swann's Way in a single sitting. It's more a book that you can dip into and out of - the language is so rich, it's like swimming in chocolate

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37 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A Masterpiece

Proust's writing is exquisitive. This is the most consuming, sensual, imagery-dense novel I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The novelist's insight and understanding of human nature is compelling. I want to live in France and drink tea and eat madeleines, while reading this over and over again.

John Rowe's narration is glorious (I listened as I read the book). Rowe made a dense text captivating and accessible. I could listen to him reading for many more hours.

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29 people found this helpful

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  • M.
  • 14-01-17

glorious reading brings vibrant life to text

Where does Remembrance of Things Past rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Definitely in the top 20 mainly because of John Rowe^s reading

What other book might you compare Remembrance of Things Past to, and why?

Storyline - none similar enough to compare
Reading - readings by Kenneth Branagh and Juliet Stevenson

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too long, and too good. Wanted to hear every word. Story was secondary.

Any additional comments?

Please could you ask John Rowe to record the other volumes in the series

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16 people found this helpful

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Attraction despite no action

This has often been called the greatest book ever written. There is a play on words because it is indeed great – Part 2 alone makes War and Peace look like a pamphlet. I read only the first book of the first tome – Swann’s Way. But it is great literature even in translation.

Where else can an author spend most of the first hundred pages on the thoughts of a boy deciding whether or not to get out of bed? Where else can an entire chapter be dedicated to the author’s recollection of a single type of flower?

Proust’s imagery and imagination are simply beyond equal. His evocation (for example) of flowers, smells, sights, village people, emotions from (his) childhood are fascinatingly real and engrossing. His eye for detail is matched only by his command of language which paints vast landscapes and microscopic grains of pollen with equal panache.

There is almost no plot, yet the characters are fascinating and the book is compelling because one is allowed to observe a great master at work.

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15 people found this helpful

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A remarkable reading

Neville Jason is an excellent narrator, who has produced wonderful versions of the classics (his War and Peace is as good as it gets). Some years ago I listened to - and greatly enjoyed - Jason's unabridged version of Swann's Way, as well as his brief life of Proust, but there's no question that John Rowe's rendition here is even better.

Rowe somehow manages to deliver Proust's more serpentine sentences without becoming lost in their meaning. His cadence and his sense of timing gives the listener complete confidence that he is following the author's complex, subtle and intensely analytical line of thought every step of the way. This aids immensely in the listener's own comprehension of the text and turns what can sometimes be a challenging classic into a very accessible one.

In summary, a wonderful, moving, intelligent and sensitive narration of a wonderful, moving, intelligent and sensitive book.

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10 people found this helpful

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  • KC
  • 02-10-19

A slice of literature not so thin

This was a lengthy and at many times, tedious novel but time and time again I marvelled at Proust’s capacity to describe the detail of everyday life, emotion and relationship in so vivid a way that I had to re-listen and enjoy his skills with words again. No wonder it is viewed as referential to 20th century literature. The story, written in the first voice of a never-to-be-named narrator, chronicles life and reflections in late 19th and early 20th century aristocratic France. Putting aside a personal discomfort with the sexist and superficial values at play of this time, I found the introspection and banality of the lives described depressing. However, there is an important and useful message to it all, i.e. that each moment, interaction, even place will never return or even remain the same so we have to make of it what we will in that moment. This is ironic, given the fame and stature of this piece of literature that has endured over time. Perhaps this is why I would recommend it to all aspiring novelists and why I read it in the first place.

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9 people found this helpful

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From Taj

What a masterpiece. some parts of the book are so intimate one wishes to remember them, to bring them out of the unconscious mind... to go over them with Proust over a cup of... herbal tea as he would like it.

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Beautiful!

This is definitely the best way to enjoy Proust! Wonderful prose, beautifully narrated. It doesn’t get any better than this.

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A beautiful masterpiece

This is a masterpiece of beautiful, alluring and magnificent prose . it is hugely overwritten, meandering like a stream of consciousness with no real story and skips back and forward through time. Yet it is beautifully crafted, evocative and indulgent. If there is a story here it is about growing up and trying to find meaning in bourgeois France as the old system of aristocracy is replaced by the new middle class. The book explores issues of social climbing, unrequited love and art in a heady mix of dream and reminiscence. At times it is shamefully snobbish and at other times it is painfully honest. It is read impeccably.

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Surprisingly good!

Would you listen to Remembrance of Things Past again? Why?

I only listened to one part of this - the story of Swann falling in love with Odette de Crecy - which was absolutely brilliant. I have to be honest - I ditched it after that - life's too short, etc etc.

What did you like best about this story?

It's so well written and observed.

Have you listened to any of John Rowe’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No, but I would. He's very good.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes! Swann is unlikeable but you can't help but pity him when he gets a taste of his own medicine.

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3 people found this helpful