Descrizione
Price: 18,60€ - 10,68€
(as of Apr 14, 2025 00:54:14 UTC – Details)
‘What a marvellous book this is . . . de Botton dissects what [Proust] had to say about friendship, reading, looking carefully, paying attention taking your time, being alive and adds his own delicious commentary. The result is an intoxicating as it is wise, amusing as well as stimulating, and presented in so fresh a moda as to be unique . . . I could not stop, and now much start all over again.’ Brian Masters, Mail on Sunday
‘De Botton not only has a complete understanding of Proust’s life . . . but what is particularly charming about this small, readable book is its tongue-in-cheek benignity, its lightly held erudition and its generous way of lending itself to what is not only the greatest book of the century but also the darkest and the most eccentric’ Edmund White, Observer
‘It contains more human interest and play of fancy than most fiction . . . de Botton, in emphasizing Proust’s healing, advisory aspects, does us the service of rereading him on our behalf, providing of that vast sacred lake a sweet and lucid distillation.’ John Updike, New Yorker
‘De Botton’s little book is so charming, amusing and sensible that it may even itself change your life.’ Allan Massie, Daily Telegraph
‘This engaging book is one of the most entertaining pieces of literary criticism I have read in a long while.’ Sunday Telegraph
‘A very enjoyable book’ Sebastian Faulks
ASIN : B007BEJKMW
Editore : Picador; 1st edizione (23 febbraio 2012)
Lingua : Inglese
Dimensioni file : 1.3 MB
Da testo a voce : Abilitato
Screen Reader : Supportato
Miglioramenti tipografici : Abilitato
X-Ray : Non abilitato
Word Wise : Abilitato
Lunghezza grafica : 210 pagine
Numeri di pagina fonte ISBN : 0679779159
Mattia Damaggio –
Alain de Botton: wise, smart, good and clear
Well written and easily readable book. Contains very interesting insights both applicable to the reading of Proust and to one’s practical aspects of everyday life. I wish many more books could combine their usefulness with such clarity!
Ana E Alvarez B –
Proust can be fun 😉
Light and fun while staying deeply profound. A look at how life can be improved by following some easy steps. I know it doesn’t sound serious or ‘proustian’ when I put it like that but you gotta trust the title because it’s a life changer! Enjoy!
anozama –
This book is a tasty appetiser for anyone considering reading a bit of (or a lot of) Proust. Teasing out several themes representative of Proust’s refections, De Botton elegantly combines novel excerpts, vignettes from Proust’s life, and a perceptive and amusing commentary on both.We’re told how Proust said he would spend his final weeks if given notice of impending doom; how rich, deep, complex and worth savouring he found life; how strongly he advocated continually learning from misfortune.We learn how vividly he identified fictional characters with real ones; how alert he was to the artistic skill of highlighting what the audience knew but had never articulated; and how passionate he was for originality, hence authenticity, versus imitation and cliché.De Botton describes Proust’s emphatic distinction between the amount of truth to be found in books and the amount to be found in relationships; and his delight in the edification of books in combination with continuing to think for ourselves.He goes on to illustrate the ways Proust emphasised the importance of appreciating what you have, rather than what you might have; the value of the humble compared to the exalted; the greater reward we find in things we have had to yearn for; and how readily familiarity breeds contempt.We are left in no doubt that Proust can change our life for the better.
Mr Abhijeet Gupta –
To those who consider nostalgia beneficial, often need to defend it against its detractors who advocate the usefulness of being in the present moment. This book will provide a useful insight as to why it is worthwhile to persist in the search of lost time, for as Socrates claimed, ‘the unexamined life is not worth living!’
Rolland Claude –
J’avais déjà lu avec bonheur “à la recherche du temps perdu”, mais ces analyses ajoutent encore à la compréhension que j’en avais, et De Botton le fait de façon accessible (ce qui n’est pas toujours le cas de l’original) et avec humour, sans manquer de respect à Proust. Recommandé à ceux qui n’ont pas eu l’occasion ou le courage de s’attaquer à ce monument de la littérature mondiale. Mais pourquoi les meilleurs commentaires de Proust sont ils ceux des anglo-saxons?
Shashi –
If you are not an English Major, the only way you can understand Marcel Proust’s extra-odinary work “Swann’s Time” and rest of the 6 volumes, is reading this book. But having said that, probably this is one of the most beautiful way to understand life as well. Alain De Botton has done an extremely wonderful analysis as well as connected well with the life and the thoughts in context of Proust. You need to read this book to understand the nuances that will escape your notice as you go through your life and read Proust’s work.Well Done.
Gurtle –
I enjoyed reading this book. It changed my life for sure. Alain uses a whole arsenal of difficult words, but I guess that’s good for my vocabulary. Read it, you won’t regret it.