Remembrance of Things Past 2: The Guermantes Way. Cities of the Plain

I thoroughly enjoyed all 1169 pages of Volume 2 of this trilogy! This volume includes books 3 & 4 of seven, "Guermantes Way" and "Sodom and Gomorrah". Nobody writes like Proust. His exquisite, excruciating attention to the details and minutiae of the behavior of the aristocracy in France is nothing

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short of remarkable. His prose in this volume is exceedingly witty and sarcastic. Our protagonist, Marcel, is a young man now, finding his way in high society and observing its dynamics, idiosyncrasies, and hypocrisies. Additionally, Marcel, is trying to understand lust v. love, and the manipulative subtleties of courtship. In the course of this series of life lessons Proust writes at great length about homosexuality amongst the socially elite, expressing difficulty comprehending it and acceptance of its existence. The third major theme is the passage of time, as Marcel lose a beloved relative and watches other important characters age physically, mentally, and socially. It takes commitment to read this series, and in my opinion it is well worth the effort.

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