Time Regained

From Library JournalIn The Fugitive, the seventh volume of Proust's classic Remembrance of Things Past, the focus is grief. The plot is superficially simple: Albertine, the narrator's mistress, has left him; he considers his love for her, her reasons for departure, what response(s) he should make, and his life. He makes several attempts to manipulate her return; when it becomes impossible, he mourns and remembers the past. This series is a pseudoautobiographical study of the author's own self-centered, physically restricted, self-reflective life in pre-World War I France. In Time Regained, the final volume, Proust gathers together all the themes of the previous seven. The narrator pays several visits to Paris, during and after the war, observing the military and nonmilitary behaviors of old and new acquaintances. Later, he is shocked to recognize that they and he have become old. Finally, his thoughts turn to former events, old loves, and reliving his experiences through writing. The author is known for his complicated thought patterns and recurring, interwoven themes. Unfortunately, both the abridgment and the format compound these textual difficulties. There is likely to be little demand for this abridged French classic in translation, unless it is made into a movie. Neville Jason has a beautiful voice and an obvious love for the text. Recommended for large academic and public libraries. I. Pour-El, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review“Proust is perhaps the last great historian of the loves.” —Edmund Wilson