Welcome to Litsy!

(1731) It's a story of faithlessness and devotion that inspired two brilliant operas, either of them better than the book. Without music I expected to loathe both principals: her for her deception, him for his blind devotion. But both are more complex: Manon is an ambitious woman who seeks to rise by means available to her and Des Grieux is an unreliable narrator who may be a greater liar than Manon. Mixed feelings but more engaging than expected.

For a short book, this felt remarkably long. It is a translation from French, about a middle aged woman, Anna, who has a wonderful relationship with Guillaume. One summer she becomes obsessed with another man, with whom she embarks on an unusual affair. She is torn between the two men and much of the time is spent in her head trying to justify. She‘s an incredibly selfish and self-centred character and I just didn‘t care about the outcome.

#SchoolSpirit #Memories @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

“My father tried to kill my mother one Sunday in June, in the early afternoon.” So starts Shame, written about events from when the author was 12. It‘s an interesting exploration of Catholic school in the 1950s but lacks a bit of the oomph one would expect from that first sentence. I‘ve only read a few of hers so far, and this one is the weakest. Low pick for me.

A wonderful collection of four short stories by one of my favorite authors; a bit dark but deeply heart-warming.

"There is a warm sadness and a cold sadness. The warm one is when you love. The cold one is when you don't love. In the warm one, there is someone. In the cold one, no one. When I suffer because Eva no longer lives, this makes her stand by my side. If I stopped suffering it means she would die again and vanish forever."

Holaa, aún sigo leyendo esta obra teatral muuuy romántica.
“La luz de tus ojos ilumina los míos. Entóname
algún cantar como otras noches, en que tus pestañas
temblaban hasta dejar caer en mis labios las blancas
perlas de tus lágrimas. ¡Seamos felices! Bebamos, ya
que la copa está llena. Esta hora nos pertenece;
olvidémonos de todo lo demás. Háblame y
embriágame.

I keep reading this author's books despite feeling quite blasé about them. This one, in my defense, has an excellent cover. Title translates to Life Is a Novel.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I loved it, but I had to read it like a possessed person to get through it.... Actually that‘s how it has been for me with all of Proust.

As usual with these editions, the translator's intro in the beginning is excellent.

Some of this installment is like a fever dream; a new type of Proust. Fantasies and dreams and memories flood the reader. The prose is incredible as always, the observations revelatory. I also gasped audibly at one part.

For old age removes the ability to act, but not to desire. It is only in a third phase that those who live to a great age renounce desire, after being obliged to abandon action. They no longer stand for such petty elections as that of President of the Republic, where they so often formerly strove to succeed. They are content merely to go out, to eat, and to read the newspapers. They have outlived themselves.

I‘m halfway through this!

Really liking it so far. It‘s somewhat easy to follow and, like the previous volume, not crammed with characters to keep track of.

I can‘t believe I‘ve come this far in Proust…. The prose is filled with revelations (which I‘ve grown used to but is still heavily impressive), and I‘m fully in his world. I‘m reading this like a person possessed.