In Search of Lost Time

Reading Proust is learning to see differently. The seven volumes tell no plot as such; instead they unfold the texture of time and memory with a meticulousness that can frustrate or fascinate. The famous madeleine is merely the trigger: what follows is one of the deepest analyses of jealousy, social envy, and desire ever written. Not for everyone or every season of life — but there is a moment when it catches you at exactly the right time.