Sodom and Gomorrah

Remembrance of Things Past - Volume 4

By: Marcel Proust

Narrated by: Neville Jason

Remembrance of Things Past is one of the monuments of 20th century literature. Neville Jason’s widely praised 39 CD abridged version has rightly become an audiobook landmark and now, upon numerous requests, he is recording the whole work unabridged which, when complete, will run for some 140 hours.

Sodom and Gomorrah is the fourth of seven volumes. Accidentally witnessing an encounter between the Baron de Charlus and the tailor Jupien, the narrator’s eyes are opened to a world hidden from him until now; he suspects that Albertine is attracted to her own sex.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2012 Naxos AudioBooks

continuing the journey

In this installment, the protagonist continues the slow thoughtful journey through his memories. Here he discovers that some people close to him are homosexual, hence the title. He is burning with fits of jealousy for Albertine, whom he doesn't really even love anymore, and it appears to lead him to rather unfortunate choices.

Excellent narration of a great work

Where does Sodom and Gomorrah rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Rare for audio books, I can say categorically that I enjoy listening to this book better than reading it myself. I read the first three volumes of this series ("In Search of Lost Time", also called "Remebrance of Things Past") and found it tough going. Neville Jason transmits Proust's complex sentence structure with seeming effortlessness. He does a good job of changing voices in a way that brings out the personality of characters in the novel, especially for male characters.

Any additional comments?

Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" is a rewarding series for those who stick with it. (My book club is taking 2-3 years reading all 7 volumes.) Proust is like a neuroscientist, getting inside the head of his characters, especially the narrator, who resembles Marcel Proust himself. If you're looking for an action-filled page-turner, this book is not for you (even in audio form), but if you are looking for a thoughtful book with an interesting take on human nature, Proust has something significant to offer. Remember, this is volume 4. Reading or listening to the previous three volumes is a must before starting this one.

Exploring the Forbidden (though Ubiquitous)

Would you consider the audio edition of Sodom and Gomorrah to be better than the print version?

Yes, because of Neville Jason's performance and apparently deep understanding of the characters.

What other book might you compare Sodom and Gomorrah to and why?

Only to the other volumes of Remembrance of Things Past

Which character – as performed by Neville Jason – was your favorite?

Baron de Charlus. Neville Jason brilliantly depicts his wild emotional swings and bombast and manages to deliver the significant situational humor while maintaining empathy for the character's plight.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Proust is too dense to absorb all at once.

Any additional comments?

Proust's humor comes across much more strongly in this volume than in the previous ones -- or perhaps I just am only now understanding it.

Absolutely fantastic!

This is an absolutely fantastic - life changing - piece of literature. Neville Jason's performance transfers you to the beginning of the twentieth century. Phenomenal!

Narrator excellent

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. The narration is excellent in every respect, which is a considerable achievement given the novel. Neville Jason renders the very long sentences comprehensible, does different characters without overdoing the distinctions, and transmits the writing beautifully, which can only be so if he understood himself - again no mean feat

What did you like best about this story?

There's no need to review Proust.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No one has read this work in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

I have much less difficulty in reading this work via audiobook than by sight.

...and the story continues....

If a reader has made it to Vol 4, they should be used to it by now. Nothing much happens in this installment, but the words are beautiful, and the narrator does a brilliant job at using different voices for each character.

So vivid!

Proust’s ability to describe mundane life is unparalleled..I’ve never read a book with such detailed descriptions of every aspect of life .

story

I very like the Performance ,but the sentences are too long to understand，one very good text

Looking back obliquely on Proust's fourth volume

Reviewing 'Sodom and Gomorrah' puts me in an awkward spot. What are the risks of looking back obliquely on Proust's fourth volume of 'In Search of Lost Time' (ISOLT)? Will any indirect reference to Proust's army of inverts turn me into a pillar of salt? Will I disquiet my friends and my family with funky quotes from Proust's salon-centric novel?

It is hard to grab this one volume and grade or inspect it separate from the previous three, and seems premature to attempt to capture the full body of ISOLT before finishing the next three. Still, having read/listened 2700+ pages /102 hours of Proust now, I can still feel confident in saying that the guy is brilliant, weird, distressing, mesmerizing, queer, petulant, boring, beautiful, raving, labyrinthine, decadent, lyrical, perverse, funky, banal, and that is just a sampling of my feelings about Proust on just one of his d@mned pages.

But this is a novel that once started, must be finished. It is also a novel that needs to be eaten in discrete and slow chunks. I'm not sure it is possible to eat an entire wheel of Leerdammer by oneself, or to drink an entire hogshead of wine, or to read Proust's ISOLT all the way through. It is brilliant, but needs to be consumed in small graceful quantities, preferably with your pinky sticking out.

Pretty Amazing

For a homosexual, Proust writes elegantly about heterosexual love. Wonder what is next for Proust (narrator) and Albertine in Paris, now that they are leaving Balbec. For me, Proust and Albertine are the latter-day Swann and Odette of early. The last 50 pages of this volume are really good. However, if I were Proust, I would have made Charlus and Prince Guermantes to have crossed paths in the wealthy whore house instead of Morel learning that someone (Charlus) was spying on him and giving the heads-up to Prince Guermantes. I also really like the discussion about the Dreyfus Affair.