I've discovered why I like Proust so much. It's the way he paints metaphors around beautiful moments in time, which conjure abstract visions in my imagination. Often these metaphors will build upon one another, so that the tapestry of the writing yields a universal marvel at such artistry. Unfortunately, The Guermantes Way didn't have anywhere near the amount of these than in Young Girls In Flower. Most of this volume is set at tedious dinner parties in high class Parisian society. Our protagonist is quickly becoming an adult, and he is dangerously living on the brink of hypocrisy with his keen interest in societal affairs and his critique of all the fabricated witticisms that come with it. Many of the people in this volume are snobbish and conceited. Mme De Guermantes herself, while being the most interesting person in the book, appears to be generous at first, but really prioritizes her intellectual status in society above all niceties. I found myself yawning and skipping ahead often, but at least some of the conversations were amusing. At the end I was thinking to Proust, "Why did you bother writing about such tedium when you found it boring?" Perhaps I'll find out why in volume 4.
There were two precious gems in this chore of a book. The first 50 pages are extraordinary (he's at the Phaedra show again, this time unable to take his eyes off the Guermantes). It seemed that the book would take that lovely extension from Young Girls in Flower and pull it all the way through. But alas, then came the dreadful dinner parties. The other gem was about midway through, during his next encounter with Albertine.
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