David R. Ellison

David Ellison's guide is the best of its type. There are many good books on Proust as a man, and a couple (e.g. Roger Shattuck) of very good books on "In Search of Lost Time". However, it's very hard to find a blow-by-blow guide for the reader or student - even the Wikipedia page on the book is appallingly brief! Ellison works through each volume, chapter by chapter, section by section. He discusses plot (as does Patrick Alexander, in his very good book that doesn't go far enough) but also discusses art and philosophical concerns, and the links to Proust's own life. This is a valuable resource for either people who are reading Proust casually (like myself) and would like a reading companion, or undergraduate students seeking a primer.
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