The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 20 August 2007
by Susan Baker
with essays by Keith Althaus and foreword by Richard Howard
Like many famous authors, Marcel Proust has a devoted following of readers, writers and other afficionadoes. And, like many famous and deceased authors, the landscape and physical landmarks of his writing and of his life are shrines that are well-visited and often preserved in the state in which he left them. Proust was famous for keeping himself holed up in a cork-lined bedroom in the closing years of his life. The room is preserved and even duplicated in museums. So much of Proust's writing was based on a thinly disguised reality that one can take a driving tour across the French countryside and experience the land much as Marcel saw it. The "author" of this little book is a Cape Cod artist who went on just such a journey, traveling across northern France and the coast, sketching and painting the buildings, sites, and sometimes just the type of buildings that figure prominently in Proust's life and his writing. The book is a collection of the paintings that resulted, often captioned with Proust quotes. There are a couple of short essays by the author's husband, who was along for the trip, and who captures a little of the feeling of the journey. Despite being short on text, flipping through the book eventually provokes a moody appreciation of Proust's milieu. The paintings themselves have a sketchy flat quality, but they portray a quiet and moody landscape in a direct geometric style. Overall, the book is a little hypnotic, though perhaps best appreciated, like the tour itself, if the reader knows a bit about M. Proust and has read a bit of his epic work.
[Other Books by and about Marcel Proust]