In Search of Lost Time - Volume 5: The Prisoner and The Fugitive - Marcel Proust

The Prisoner and The Fugitive fulfill Swann's much earlier warning to Marcel: 'Though the subjection of the woman may briefly allay the jealousy of the man, it eventually makes it even more demanding', as Marcel and Albertine are locked in a cycle of mistrust that threatens both their identities. But these are also novels of great lyrical excitement and beauty - in the Parisian street cries, the Vinteuil concert and Proust's virtuoso descrip- tion of Venice. Above all, these two works deal with the theme of the impact of memory that runs throughout In Search of Lost Time.

'Proust redefined the terms of fiction a profound and often very witty masterpiece' - Guardian