Widely considered the greatest French novelist of the twentieth century, Marcel Proust’s first book, published at the age of twenty-five, was not a novel but a collection of short stories, poems and sketches. Most of the pieces in Les Plaisirs et les jours [Pleasures and Days] had already appeared in journals: Proust’s purpose, in bringing them together, was to make a name for himself on the literary scene, and perhaps also to assuage his parents’ request that he should, well, get a real job. Published by Calmann-Lévy at Proust’s own expense, and following three frustrating years of preparation, the book was expensive and sales were insubstantial. Disappointed, though not discouraged from …
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Citation: Richardson, Yasmine. "Les Plaisirs et les jours". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 January 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35862, accessed 23 November 2024.]
