[ilds] The Alexander Quartet and Proust's In Search of Lost Time (entitled Remembrance of Things Past, in its earlier English translations)

[Sumantra Nag]

Having resumed my reading of Proust   after a lapse of many years, I
devoted the last few months to reading the last four volumes (Cities of the
Plain, The Captive, The Fugitive and Time Regained) of Proust's In Search
of Lost Time (Remembrance of Things Past) in the English translation by
Terence Kilmartin (Penguin 1983).

This translation, evidently includes some reworking of Scott Moncrieff's
original translation but was described as a very faithful translation of
Proust's work. I gather that later translations were done by different
translators around 2010 but I haven't accessed them yet.

Having read these last four volumes I returned to the earlier volumes to
refurbish my memory of them, since I had read them many years ago.

My recent reading of Proust's monumental work led me to perceive that many
of the qualities marking The Alexandria Quartet are present in the novels
of In Search of Lost Time (to use the original title) where these qualities
prevail in much greater depth, range and variety.

To begin with, if Durrell's original description of his novels (the AQ) was
"an investigation of bisexual love" -
subsequently edited by the publishers to read as "an investigation of
modern love" - Proust's work deals with homosexuality, lesbianism and
bisexual love through an extensive range of characters and situations which
are explored at length.

In Proust's work the narrator's extended relationship with Albertine and
his sense of loss following her death are expressed in great detail with a
stirring poignancy. Larry's feelings for the impoverished Melissa in the AQ
has a similar quality.

Proust records obsessive love and jealousy with great intensity. In the AQ
Justine and her relationships with both Larry and her husband Nessim
reflect a similar concentration of feeling.

Proust describes landscape and the effect of light with the vividness of a
painter and deals with moods associated with landscape. Durrell displays a
similar preoccupation with the colours and effects of landscape.

One could go on . . . Psychological analysis and rhetorical observations
abound in Proust and Durrell's rich prose includes a similar content.

I presume I am scratching the surface of a literary comparison which has
received scholarly treatment about which I am eager to learn.

An early review of the AQ novels spoke of a "Proustian ferocity" with which
Durrell deals with his material. While on this point, it might be
interesting to read all the reviews of the novels from The Alexandria
Quartet if they are available in a collected format.

Regards

Sumantra

Sent from my Moto G4 Plus
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