Whilst “Sodom and Gomorrah” Volumes I and II were being published, on 13 October 1921, Jacques Rivière wrote to Proust the…
Translated from French.
Whilst “Sodom and Gomorrah” I and II were being published, on 13 October 1921, Jacques Rivière wrote to Proust explaining why he regarded his work as one of the greatest: 🫶🏻
🖋️ “Gaston tells me you’d like my honest opinion – ‘without any flattery or favouritism’ – on your next book. Here it is: it’s brilliant! ✨🙌🏻
(…) From this moment on, you are the author and creator of a society at least as comprehensive as that of “La Comédie Humaine”. 📚
(…) You possess both a flair for the picturesque and a gift for analysis. You bring scenes to life (Mr De Charlus entering the Verdurins’ home, the portrait of the elderly Madame de Cambremer, the Marquis) with as much power as Saint-Simon, and you delve into emotions with as much insight as Racine or Stendhal. 💘
I cannot think of anyone in whom these two qualities have ever been so closely combined, so seamlessly blended.
“Personally, as you know, it is your extraordinary powers of analysis that amaze me most. And in this volume I have just read, it was the way in which you managed to distil love for Albertine from jealousy 💔 that struck me as the most marvellous thing of all.”
Dear readers of @proustagram 🤵🏻♂️: why do you rate Proust so highly among your favourite authors? I’ve been receiving lots of messages 💌 from you, and I know just how much you love Proust. But why is that? Let us know in the comments! 📬
#AlbertineSimonet #Correspondance #MarcelProust #ÀlaRechercheduTempsperdu #proustagram #JacquesRivière #SodomeetGomorrhe #NRF #Albertine #Gallimard #LesIntermittencesduCœur #LaJalousie
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