Proust Avant Proust: Essai Sur Les Plaisirs Et Les Jours

Although Bernard de Fallois described Les Plaisirs et les Jours as “lost time without the Search”, the essay that he devoted to this collection of short stories in no sense establishes it as an incomplete or minor work. In retracing Proust’s creative development, the author underscores the continuity apparent in all of his writings, while avoiding any form of binarism or prioritization. The novel character of the views in this essay written in the mid-1950s, combined with his lively writing style, will startle Proust enthusiasts and most erudite readers alike. Bernard de Fallois recreates the author’s social and personal contexts at the time when the latter was writing Les Plaisirs et les jours, supplementing this backdrop with several previously unpublished documents. Proust broaches the psychology of homosexuality with surprising delicacy. Yet what de Fallois brings to light most is the literary scope of this compilation of deceptively disparate texts. The style foreshadows the Proustian language. The fragmented structure, not yet as accomplished as that of À la Recherche du temps perdu, already suggests a powerful principle of unity. The characters and themes echo from one short story to the next, hinting of all of the talent that will come to fruition in his later novels.Bernard de Fallois (1926-2018) was the discoverer of Marcel Proust’s works, Jean Santeuil and Contre Sainte-Beuve. After gaining permission to consult the writer’s archives, he finalized this as yet unpublished essay on Les Plaisirs et les Jours. He turned to publishing in the early 1960s. As the Director of Le Livre de Poche, he guided the fate of Groupe Livre/Hachette (1968-1975), followed by that of Presses de la Cité (1975-1987), after which he founded the publishing house that bears his name.Luc Fraisse, an author and literary commentator on the work of Proust, is a professor at Université de Strasbourg and a member of Institut universitaire de France. He also directed the publication of Sept conférences sur Marcel Proust by Bernard de Fallois (Éditions de Fallois), 2019.