The Guermantes Way, Part 1

By: Marcel Proust

Narrated by: Neville Jason

Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Guermantes Way, Part 1, the third volume of Marcel Proust's monumental, seven volume Remembrance of Things Past, Marcel penetrates the inner sanctum of Paris high society and falls in love with the fascinating Duchesse de Guermantes. With his unmatched powers of observation Proust vividly describes the struggles for political, social, and sexual supremacy played out beneath a veneer of elegant manners.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)1997 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.

The Guermantes Way, I

Scintillating language, perceptions and atmosphere; having read it in French I think the English version is superb and the narration and characterization wonderful.

His first Duchess

The Geurmantes Way is the third book of the seven-volume In Search of Lost Time / Rememberances. For audiobook purposes, it is divided into two parts, this being the first. As with this entire series, it is beautifully narrated by Neville Jason.

Warning: This book contains no car chases or helicopter explosions.

This particular section covers the return of the narrator to Paris, his obsession with making the acquaintance of his neighbor, the Duchesse de Guermantes, and his growing friendship with her nephew, Robert Saint-Loup, who is in turn obsessed with his mistress, Rachel. In between these relationships, and an increasing emphasis on complex rules of society weave the tendrils of the Dreyfus case.

As I have noted before, Proust is an unhurried author, who delights in ordinary events. If you like really wonderful writing, a relaxed pace, and are after a break from a diet of thrillers, you will really like this.

missing the good parts

Since John Rowe hasn't gotten past the second volume of "Remembrance" (which makes me so very, very sad), I decided to give Neville Jason a try. But as I listened to this book, I kept thinking, "This is like Proust: The Screenplay." It's entertaining, and Neville is an excellent reader, but for me it was like Moby Dick with the whale descriptions cut out. (Yeah, I did love those whale descriptions. And the passages about spermaceti.) The society exploits of the unpleasant, self-serving Guermantes family members are not all that interesting to me: it's Prousts' musings and digressions that I find the most deep, lyrical, and satisfying, and they're missing here. I did listen to both parts of this book (and yes, Jason is truly terrific as the icky Charlus having a tantrum), but I will be trying again to finish the series in hard copy rather than continuing with the abridged version.

Unabridge it, Please!

What did you like best about The Guermantes Way, Part 1? What did you like least?

What is read is fine, but an awful lot has been left out. Seems like those interested in Proust at all would be interested in all of Proust. Leave the abridging for those books which won't suffer from it.

If you’ve listened to books by Marcel Proust before, how does this one compare?

Delighted by the first two; this one less. In fact, the abridgement makes me think twice about getting the next volume, also abridged.

What about Neville Jason’s performance did you like?

It was fine. Good range of voices; perhaps over Anglicizing some of them. It is, after all France, not England,we are hearing about....

Do you think The Guermantes Way, Part 1 needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Offer the whole book.