©️ Gallic Books (London)

‘Clara Reads Proust’

  • Author: Stéphane Carlier (translated from French by Polly Mackintosh)
  • Publisher: Gallic Books (London)
  • US Publication Date: May 14, 2024
  • Genre: Fiction
  • Pages: 174

Synopsis

Clara is a hairdresser at Cindy Coiffure, a sleepy French salon with an identity crisis. Her relationship is fizzling out. Her boss Madame Habib worships Jacques Chirac and talks longingly of her days in Paris. The highlight of the week was when the dishy technician came to repair the display cabinet. And now Madame Lévy-Leroyer wants to go blonde. Clara can’t help but wonder if there’s more to life. Everything changes when a customer leaves behind the first volume of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. As Clara reads, she discovers a whole new world. And slowly but surely, she will work out who she wants to be.

My Thoughts

I liked a few things about Clara Reads Proust (French title: Clara lit Proust). For starters, I share the main character’s love of books and reading. I was also curious to know her impressions of French novelist, Marcel Proust. (I was introduced to his seven-book masterpiece, A la recherche du temps perdu during my French studies in college. While I did not attempt to read all 4,000 pages of the book, I do recall the volume that contains the Madeleine moment. That is, when the narrator takes a bite of the spongy French cookie dipped in tea and it triggers a fond childhood memory.)

I liked how the book’s author, Stéphane Carlier was able to recreate the Proustian style in his own use of long sentences, flowing descriptions, and numerous characters. The Carlier book also does an excellent job of selling you on the idea of Proust. Clara swoons after reading many of the passages from In Search of Lost Time. I, for one, want to re-read some Proust to see if I’d feel the same way as Clara.

I do believe fans of Proust, as well as readers who enjoy books about reading, bookselling, literary escapism, and self-help might find Clara Reads Proust worthwhile.

That said, I really wanted to love Clara Reads Proust, but it turns out it’s not my cup of tea (pun intended.) The promise of Clara’s transformation at the end was underwhelming and the good parts didn’t start until about the last 30 pages! Had I known, I would’ve started there. Talk about lost time!

About the Author

Stéphane Carlier was born in 1971 in Argenteuil, France. Clara Reads Proust is his eighth novel and the first to be translated into English.

Polly Mackintosh is an editor and a translator from French currently living in London.

Thank you to Gallic Books and Meryl Zegarek Public Relations, Inc. for sending me an advance reading copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[*Disclosure: If you make a purchase using my affiliate link below, I will earn a very small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, all opinions are mine.]

You may be interested: Watch “Cabourg, in search of Proust” (13-minute documentary by Eddie Vicken) on streaming platform France Channel* (this is an affiliate link.) For more information, including a special offer for readers of my blog, read my post here.

>> Related post: Read my answers to the Proust Questionnaire, which I found on a placemat at Shakespeare and Company Café in Paris during my visit in 2018.

Tell me in the comments below: Are you a fan of Marcel Proust?