4) [In Search of Lost Time #1] The Way By Swann’s, by Marcel Proust

I haven’t done very well in my sampling of Great Literature so far this year, so was braced for another bout of reading drudgery. But in fact I found myself completely captivated by this first of Proust’s classic series; his evocations of children’s perceptions of the world of grownups, and of what it is like to be a man in love, are simply superb. Sure, you have to smile a bit at the very long sentences – the editor protests that Proust’s reputation for this is a bit unfair, in that “only” a quarter of the text consists of sentences that are longer then ten lines – yeah, right. But it would be impossible to unwind them. The pace of the book is of course very slow but I found that part of its charm. Roll on the second volume.

Also I was taken aback by the amount of girl-on-girl action. I’m not used to that in classic literature.

Top three UnSuggestions for this book:

1. How to read the Bible for all its worth : a guide to understanding the Bible by Gordon D. Fee
2. Undead and unwed by MaryJanice Davidson
3. Brightly burning by Mercedes Lackey