Page: 104
Pages read since last post: 0
Days elapsed reading Proust: 32 (16, 16*)
Books read since last Post: 0 (unless the Observer Book of Space, which came free with yesterday's paper counts)
Aargh! What is my problem? I know it's good. I actually quite like it. There's just so bloody much of it and I can't get going, even though I want to.
I'm now (at least) in 2nd place overall, and have taken as many days to read near enough to bugger all of volume 2 as it took me to knock off the entirety of Swann's Way. The extent of my proustcrastination even dictates that I should be preferentially blogging the fact I haven't touched it over the past weekend to actually reading the damn thing... although I think I deserve some kind of acknowledgement of bravery for posting the first mid-volume 0 page blog.
It's fast becoming hopeless. We all knew there'd be moments of hesitation, doubt and self-loathing - but only 600 pages in?!?! That's a little under one fifth of the whole novel. What's a boy to do? And still, that pink portrait of Proust perpetually gazes down on me from the bookshelf as I sleep, as I stir, as I lie awake at night thinking of all the other books I could be reading... Help me! Someone, anyone, HELP ME!
P.S. Proust tribulations aside it's been a splendid autumn weekend here on the Fens. I saw a corking firework display at Ely Cathedral on Saturday night and had a lovely dinner with friends afterwards. I even got my ironing done yesterday afternoon whilst listening to the dramatisation of Dr Zhivago on Radio 4 (with dodgy regional British accents). All very pleasant.
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3 comments:
Just out of interest, given you have the set. How long is the whole thing in our edition?
OK monsieur, I know what your game is. I finally managed to pick up Budding Grove last night, and actually knocked off 50 pages. I was, understandably, very pleased with this (given my recent Proust issues). Just as I was retiring for the evening, however, I did the requisite maths on number of pages in our edition. The tally is thus:
Swann's - 513
Budding Grove - 618
Guermante's - 691
Sodom/Gomorrah - 615
Captive/Fugitive - a whopping 793
Regained (excl. guide to Pr.) - 451
Total - 3,681 pages
So, it transpires, that I am in fact NOT stuck one fifth of the way into the novel, and am, in fact, only one sixth of the way in. Thank you for drawing this to my attention mon ami.
But, crucially, I am nearly a third of the way through, though more like 30% (1131/3681).
Smugness indeed. I ordered vol 3 today. Am gearing up for a Christmas read.
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