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A review by grayjay
The Guermantes Way by Marcel Proust
3.0
The story opens with the narrator's family having moved from Combray to an apartment connected to the Guermantes' residence. The narrator becomes fascinated with their life, and in love with Mme de Guermantes, cherishing every encounter with her, while assuming she despises every encounter with him.
His best friend, Saint-Loup, is actually the nephew of Mme de Guermantes, so he decides to take a holiday at the barracks Saint-Loup is stationed at. He carrouses, shows off his intellect, and makes some very homoerotic friendships with Saint-Loup's friends. His secret motive is to convince Saint-Loup to talk him up to Mme de Guermantes.
At this point it is starting to seem that the narrator's "love" for this glamorous older woman is a kind of self-sabotage. Is he in love with an unreachable woman because he'd rather be with one of the young male friends he has such intimate connections with?
The narrator is introduced to Saint-Loup's mistress whom he realizes is a prostitute that he has slept with before--awkward!
Finally he manages to get an invitation to Mme de Guermantes' salon, although by that time he has fallen out of love with her. Most of the book is spent in her salons listening to fashionable repartee.
His best friend, Saint-Loup, is actually the nephew of Mme de Guermantes, so he decides to take a holiday at the barracks Saint-Loup is stationed at. He carrouses, shows off his intellect, and makes some very homoerotic friendships with Saint-Loup's friends. His secret motive is to convince Saint-Loup to talk him up to Mme de Guermantes.
At this point it is starting to seem that the narrator's "love" for this glamorous older woman is a kind of self-sabotage. Is he in love with an unreachable woman because he'd rather be with one of the young male friends he has such intimate connections with?
The narrator is introduced to Saint-Loup's mistress whom he realizes is a prostitute that he has slept with before--awkward!
Finally he manages to get an invitation to Mme de Guermantes' salon, although by that time he has fallen out of love with her. Most of the book is spent in her salons listening to fashionable repartee.