PDF essay
Proust in a word (or two)
Good evening and welcome to Cabourg. I would like to thank Fanny from « le Grand-Hôtel » and of course Peter Watson, for inviting me tonight. First of all, please forgive my accent ; I do not often have the chance to speak English, but I promise to try to convey my passion for Proust to you as best as I can. So, Peter asked me if I could introduce you to the life and work of Marcel Proust in about fifteen minutes, and I could not help but be reminded of an old Monty Python sketch. Because, for those of you who may not be familiar with it, in 1972, the comedy troupe invented a TV show in which the candidates had to summarize « À la recherche du temps perdu » in… fifteen seconds. And guess what ? It is quite difficult… but it may be funny.
I wrote this text directly in English in response to a request from the Grand-Hôtel de Cabourg, which was hosting a group of about twenty American tourists—Stanford University alumni—in early September 2026.
The audience was well-educated but not specifically literary.
I had been asked if I could provide an introduction to the life and work of Marcel Proust lasting around fifteen minutes. As I am not entirely comfortable speaking English, I wrote this text and endeavored to read it with the right intonation.
Naturally, I titled it "Proust in a word (or two)." I hope you find it interesting. Please feel free to share any comments, observations, or questions you may have.
Get the full essay
5 €
An order code then appears, to copy into the message of your PayPal payment; the PDF arrives by email as soon as the payment is recognised.
Comments 0
No comments yet. Be the first.