Proust's Famous Translator Gets His Own Biography

C. K. Scott Moncrieff, the man who translated most of In Search of Lost Time, Marcel Proust's great masterpiece
À la recherche du temps perdu, now has his own biography.

As a young woman I thought the name, Scott Moncrieff, was the most romantic-sounding name imaginable, and it still resonates with me.  Proust's translater had his job cut out for him.  More than one million words.  Mon Dieu, what a task!

 Chasing Lost Time: The Life of CK Scott Moncrieff by Jean Findlay's is new biography of her (several greats) uncle. Moncrieff had an interesting life of his own.   Moncrieff also translated Luigi Pirandello, although he claimed not to be fluent in Italian.

Here is a link to several articles and reviews of the biography.

The Guardian's Book Review

The Telegraph review

And The Economist

The Wall St. Journal and the New York Times also reviewed the book.

Take a look!  

Which Translation of Proust

I am  deep, deep into the Scott Montcrief translation, because those are the volumes I've had since college.  They are ratty and the bindings look like hell, but the age and the tradition redeems these old books in my eyes. Sometime, I will read Lydia Davis, too. 


Here is a literate discussion (aren't all discussions of Proust literate) of the various translations.  The important thing, the only thing is to READ PROUST.   Of course, the original is best, but my rusty, school girl French would never succeed. 


Which Translation of Proust  

New England Reads Proust

An alert reader sent information about a Proust reading group at the Boston Athenaeum (private library) and a group of women in Connecticut have formed their own Proust-reading group. This rocks! Is it a movement?


http://womenreadingproust.blogspot.com/2009/08/mon-dieu-someone-has-read-all-7-volumes.html

I took Volume II off the shelf. It looks mouse-chewed and terribly worn, and I notice there's a price of $2.00 on the inside cover. Obviously from college days. Scott Montcrieff translation and hard cover. Avanti!

The other Odette

Painting in Proust

Today the New York Times Sunday edition had a long article on Painting in Proust by Eric Karpeles. This book looks like a keeper, and if the American economy ever digs itself out of the toilet, I will certainly buy a copy.

In Proust's great masterpiece, he "names more than 100 painters and mentions or describes dozens or works." Who can ever forgot the scenes in Elstir's studio at Balbec?

What a delightful time one would have paging through the paintings that inspired Proust.

The article show a 1922 drawing by Paul Helleu of Proust on his deathbed. He looks so young and calm, as if he just lay down for a nap.

Here is the Amazon link should you decide to buy the book. Oh, why not! Give yourself a Christmas present. It's not THAT expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Paintings-Proust-Visual-Companion-Search/dp/0500238545/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225674031&sr=1-1

Proust online in English and French

http://cvillewords.wordpress.com/2007/09/23/searchable-proust/

Proust available in English and in French online! This looks like a great web site and I want to check some of the weird translations of menu items from the French to the English.

Last night I read more of the narrator's first formal introduction to Albertine, a shape shifter if there ever was one, at least in his head. The little band is interesting, with their golf clubs and their bicycles. They sound almost- - - liberated. He assumes they are mistresses of bicycle racers. Ah, the bad assumptions we all make. And of course Marcel is not exactly athletic by any standards, au contraire! And they know the artist Elstir in a kind of casual way, the way locals know each other in Nantucket. Elstir admits being a past habitue of the the Verdurins' soirees, and I loved what he said to Marcel about it. I'll quote when I remember to drag the book down to the computer's area.

Onward,

Odette