Quite possibly the greatest novel ever. Certainly there is nothing to compare in terms of quantity and quality combined, and compared to other very long novels Proust is easy to read. His writing is so beautiful, the famously long sentences full of a glorious wit and insight, that I found this semi-fictional memoir a great pleasure to read, so much so that I have now read two different translations.
But is this the best way to approach Proust? This edition takes the original Scott Moncrieff translation, which is still considered by many to be the best, and combines what were originally seven books into two large volumes. This first volume consists of Swann's Way, Within a Budding Grove and The Guermantes Way.
The title of Proust's whole work is usually translated these days as 'In search of Lost Time'. The title used for this edition, 'Remembrance of Things Past', is Moncrieff's very loose original translation of 'A la Recherche du Temps Perdu', and emphasizes the point that this is aimed at readers who specifically want the Moncrieff original version.
Unless you know your Proust and know what to expect, I would suggest buying a different edition, and start with Swann's Way as one (more manageable) volume. If you don't like it, and not everyone finds the slow pace to their liking, to say the least, there's really no point in buying more.
