The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 18 November 2008
by Malcolm Bowie
The thing that makes Marcel Proust's monumental work A la Recherche du Temps Perdu so magnificent, of course, is its language. There are many other reasons. Malcolm Bowie, who was a scholar of French literature at Cambridge, lists seven themes (Self, Time, Art, Politics, Morality, Sex & Death) that run through Proust's giant novel, and convincingly sets them into the context of the story and particularly, Proust's intense language. And Bowie is clearly a fan of Proust. He is in love with Proust's deep exploration of life, literature, sex and art. Early in this book, the themes of Time and Self help to explicate the purpose and structure behind Proust's infamously long sentences. There is a complex but expressive nature at work and the very structure of the language becomes the theme for the Search. Bowie turns to elements more in line with Proust's own life, in Art, Politics and Morality. Proust himself was promiscuous (sometimes frustratingly so) in his beliefs and desires and these come across in the obsessive nature of his work. Sex, of course, is key to the schizophrenic element of Proust's life and work. While Bowie doesn't explore Proust's sex life (this is no biography), it becomes clear that the issues he was working through while writing the Search... found their way into his text and color generations of interpretaion. Bowie, himself, died at a young 64 (though Proust was just 51 when he succumbed to lifelong frailty) early in 2007. One almost gets the sense that Bowie knew his fate (as must we all) as he wrote the last chapter in this book. His exegesis on Death in Proust is heartfelt and deeply understanding. This book is tilted toward the so-called "popular" audience, providing a vivid overview and exploration into these seven themes within Proust's big novel. It lies somewhere between "popular" and "scholarly", though, as Bowie's own language is intelligent, elevated, sometimes obscure and convoluted, but never simplistic or condescending. This is an engrossing work. If the reader has already read the Search..., this book is a good excuse to go back and read it again. If the reader is somewhere in the middle, or if he stopped after Swann's Way, this is incentive to continue. If you're setting out on the Search... explore Proust a while before turning to Bowie's book. But certainly turn to this book. Its insights and emotion lend it tremendous appeal.