tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-500794647428701667.post7859906697980268714..comments2024-03-18T16:41:34.785+00:00Comments on Vapour Trails: The Sweet Cheat Gone / Albertine Disparue (1st Post)Séamus Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-500794647428701667.post-48726711256277867372012-10-05T15:19:54.001+01:002012-10-05T15:19:54.001+01:00Yes, the difference between thought experience and...Yes, the difference between thought experience and real experience is one of the stronger themes in this book. The way the desired end of a destructive relationship can cause a huge amount of pain.<br />Marcel doesn't really seem to love, rather he wants to own the object of his love. To this end he squanders money etc. It is almost incidental the way he presents Albertine's intellectual qualities which are shown more in the regard in which she is held by others than through Marcel's own appreciation of her.<br />I imagine that this is one of those books which has left a fairly indelible mark on me, something rarer and rarer as I grow older and less impressionable.Séamus Dugganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-500794647428701667.post-45605781282973074352012-10-05T10:38:22.665+01:002012-10-05T10:38:22.665+01:00This volume is the one I liked the less when I fir...This volume is the one I liked the less when I first read it. I'm curious to see how I'll respond to it now that I'm older. <br /><br />All in all, I don't agree with Marcel's vision of love. Some things are true of course, but seen as a whole, he thinks too much, exacerbates or creates feelings through his habit to think too much.<br />He's an eternal adolescent. His love is always self-centered and never giving. When he gives (dresses, time), he expects something in return. There's no sharing in his relationship with Albertine, only taking, worrying and fantasising. <br /><br />What's well described in this volume is the difference between thinking and imagining an event (Albertine gone) and experiencing, living through it. <br /><br />You know I've read this more than 20 years ago and it's still with me. Isn't that rare for a book?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com