NONFICTION

Monsieur Proust's Library

by Anka Muhlstein
Other Pr. 2012. 108p. bibliog. ISBN 9781590515662. $19.95. LIT
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Muhlstein (Balzac's Omelette) undertakes to reveal the large role that literature plays in Marcel Proust's magnum opus, In Search of Lost Time. Her work arises from her talk at the New York Society Library in April 2011. She explains that Proust was a great reader from childhood, and that most of the characters in In Search of Lost Time also have some relationship to books. Furthermore, his interpretation of certain authors, such as Ruskin and Baudelaire, gave him ideas for creating the form of his novel, while some fictional characters dreamed up by other writers inspired him to enhance his own literary personages; for instance, Muhlstein claims Balzac's Vautrin in La Comedie humaine inspired Proust's Baron de Charlus, while the narrator of In Search often quotes Racine's Phèdre.
VERDICT The academic Proust expert may not uncover any literary revelations in this title, but the general madeleine enthusiast is bound to be entertained by Muhlstein's witty and lucid prose, despite its plot spoilers. Unlike the books of the Duc de Guermantes, the volumes in Proust's library were not bound uniformly in blonde calf-skin leather, and this tome energetically explores the distinct literary tastes of a modern writing genius.
Reviewed by Lara Jacobs, Brooklyn, NY , Feb 15, 2013
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