Book · 2015 · Autobiographical fiction
In Search of Lost Time
- mentions
- 13
- people
- 10
- podcasts
- 6
- episodes
- 11
- recommendations
- 2
My fiction read I found the most rewarding was Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past, which comes in multiple volumes.
Tyler Cowen · The Tim Ferriss Show · May 2020 Listen at 18:45 What they say about it
- Multiple volumes of the work“only has seven volumes”3
- Translation and reading experience“language is a problem”2
The best things said about it
Try Proust again. Language is a problem; the original English translation was not very good. Lydia Davis has done a better one.
Tyler Cowen EconTalk · Apr 2022 P has this P by the way who I love Marcusel Puce the great French novelist wrote this really weird book called In Search of Lost Time which is again a mixture of essay novel and I don't know disquisition on the meaning of life.
Alain de Botton How I Write · Jul 2025 And I think the reason I was thinking about time was really because I had finally read in Search of Lost Time all of it byce seven volum six I think six a lot several volumes.
I mean there's nothing sadder than that remembrance of things past only has seven volumes.
Proust is unbearable and unreadable terrible book, i read volume uh i read in search of lost time i think it's the way it goes right um which is volume one of um no swans away sorry swansway which is the first volume in search of lost time.
You know it could take you right back to a day a thing happened in a way more so even than maybe a photograph could like proust uh in a taste of Things Remembered or remembrance of things past when he eats the Madeleine and uh writes a really long novel as a result which is true.
Where and when it comes up
Mentions per year
How it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
10 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust is a monumental, multi-volume modernist novel that explores memory, time, art, and the profound meaning of human existence through an immersive blend of narrative and philosophical essay. On EconTalk and The Tim Ferriss Show, Tyler Cowen strongly recommended the work as one of his most rewarding fiction reading experiences, specifically advising readers to seek out the Lydia Davis translation because earlier English versions suffered from linguistic shortcomings. Gilbert Cruz compared a featured book series to Proust's masterpiece on The Book Review, aligning it with other great modernist time novels. Alain de Botton discussed the French author on How I Write, highlighting how Proust uniquely combined genres and viewed personal suffering as an essential catalyst for creative insight and profound psychological discovery. Jennifer Egan mentioned on The Book Review that reading all six or seven volumes of the expansive work heavily influenced her own artistic meditations on the passage of time. Erik Hoel touched upon the massive multi-volume undertaking on EconTalk while reflecting on aging and personal reading habits. Bill Goldstein discussed the profound stylistic influence the novel exerted on subsequent generations of writers, while Ian Johnson referenced a striking underwater image borrowed from Proust's text within the pages of a book by Wang Xiaobo. Across these podcast episodes, the novel was celebrated as a towering achievement in introspective literature, a masterclass in philosophical fiction, and a rewarding challenge for dedicated readers.
Every mention
Tyler Cowen but i would say try proust again, language is a problem, the original english translation was not very good… 3
“but i would say try proust again, language is a problem, the original english translation was not very good, lydia davis has done a better one”
“actually and as a study of social in search of lost time are we talking about the same book here”
“so I think my fiction read I found the most rewarding was Marcel Proust remembrance of things past which comes in multiple volumes”
Alain de Botton P has this P by the way who I love Marcusel Puce the great French novelist wrote this really weird book cal… 1
“P has this P by the way who I love Marcusel Puce the great French novelist wrote this really weird book called In Search of Lost Time which is again a mixture of essay novel and I don't know disquisition on the meaning of life.”
Ben Bowlin you know it could take you right back to a day a thing happened in a way more so even than maybe a photogra… 1
“you know it could take you right back to a day a thing happened in a way more so even than maybe a photograph could like proust uh in a taste of Things Remembered or remembrance of things past when he eats the Madeleine and uh writes a really long novel as a result which is true”
Bill Goldstein so I decided to focus on is the effect that Ulisses and Marcel PR's In Search of Lost Time had on this arra… 1
“so I decided to focus on is the effect that Ulisses and Marcel PR's In Search of Lost Time had on this array of writers”
Erik Hoel I mean there's nothing sadder than that remembrance of things past only has seven volumes 1
“I mean there's nothing sadder than that remembrance of things past only has seven volumes”
Gilbert Cruz One thing that that's been interesting to me that I've been thinking about a lot of people who've written a… 1
“One thing that that's been interesting to me that I've been thinking about a lot of people who've written about these books compare them to the great modernist time novels, you know, to to Proust's In Search of Lost Time and to James Joyce's Ulysses, right?”
Ian Johnson and then the third part is called years as water flow and he's talking about an image that he takes from FR… 1
“and then the third part is called years as water flow and he's talking about an image that he takes from FR In Search of Lost Time where it's like you're under the water watching the water rushing past you”
Jennifer Egan and I think the reason I was thinking about time was really because I had finally read in Search of Lost Ti… 1
“and I think the reason I was thinking about time was really because I had finally read in Search of Lost Time all of it byce seven volum six I think six a lot several volumes”
Niall Ferguson i'm currently in the midst of the later stages of of proust's great allah 1
“i'm currently in the midst of the later stages of of proust's great allah”
Russ Roberts proust is unbearable and unreadable terrible book, i read volume uh i read in search of lost time i think i… 1
“proust is unbearable and unreadable terrible book, i read volume uh i read in search of lost time i think it's the way it goes right um which is volume one of um no swans away sorry swansway which is the first volume in search of lost time”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker1
“my name is Lindy bullio and I live in a suburb of Chicago and my memorable summer reading took place in 1997 in Brussels I was reading In Search of Lost Time”
