Lorenza Foschini’s delightful portrait of Guerin and his Proust obsession (translated from the Italian by Eric Karpeles). The objects themselves take on a life of their own and do a jig in this little volume.” — Newsday
“A fascinating, quick read about Jacques Guérin, a guy whose obsession with Marcel Proust makes Justin Bieber fans look calm (slight exaggeration).” — Nylon Magazine
“Lorenza Foschini’s portrait of Guérin and his Proust obsession is delightful, and the objects themselves take on a life of their own and do a jig in this little volume.” — Los Angeles Times
“This sparkling, elegant piece of reportage addresses not only these particular facts and their historical ambience but also, more indirectly, larger questions of our fascination with celebrity and our passion for relics, however humble, gilded by the charisma of fame.” — Boston Globe
“Charmingly narrated.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“[Foschini], elegantly teasing out the relationship between family dynamics and property... highlights the role of objects and spaces in Proust’s work, allowing us to see In Search of Lost Time through a different lens.” — BookForum
“Foschini does a superb job of driving the intrigue and depicting how and why Guérin fell into such an infatuation. The Prousts and Guérin are characters not soon forgotten.” — Sacramento Book Review
“The translation by Karpeles... is seamless. VERDICT: This reviewer belonged to a group that read only Proust; we called ourselves the Proustitutes. Proust’s Overcoat is urgently recommended to Proustitutes wherever you are.” — Library Journal
“Readers pondering what manner of person created the masterpiece In Search of Lost Time will gobble up this tale of family tensions, revenge and collecting as they reflect on a literary legacy that was almost lost.” — Shelf Awareness
“A rare and wonderfully written book of literary detection, that is heartbreaking as well as thrilling, about the ‘afterlife’ of a writer’s manuscripts and the things he carried.” — Michael Ondaatje
“I read it in two sittings and just loved it.” — André Aciman, author of EIGHT WHITE NIGHTS
“This book is just my style. In the spirit of La Bohème, a brilliant aria to the coat.” — Patti Smith
“It’s exquisite, delicate, fascinating. I put PROUST’S OVERCOAT on the same shelf as Serena Vitale’s PUSHKIN’S BUTTON and Umberto Eco’s FOUCAULT’S PENDULUM.” — Edmund White, author of HOTEL DE DREAM and MY LIVES
[Foschini], elegantly teasing out the relationship between family dynamics and property... highlights the role of objects and spaces in Proust’s work, allowing us to see In Search of Lost Time through a different lens.
Charmingly narrated.
A fascinating, quick read about Jacques Guérin, a guy whose obsession with Marcel Proust makes Justin Bieber fans look calm (slight exaggeration).
This sparkling, elegant piece of reportage addresses not only these particular facts and their historical ambience but also, more indirectly, larger questions of our fascination with celebrity and our passion for relics, however humble, gilded by the charisma of fame.
Foschini does a superb job of driving the intrigue and depicting how and why Guérin fell into such an infatuation. The Prousts and Guérin are characters not soon forgotten.
Lorenza Foschini’s portrait of Guérin and his Proust obsession is delightful, and the objects themselves take on a life of their own and do a jig in this little volume.
It’s exquisite, delicate, fascinating. I put PROUST’S OVERCOAT on the same shelf as Serena Vitale’s PUSHKIN’S BUTTON and Umberto Eco’s FOUCAULT’S PENDULUM.
Readers pondering what manner of person created the masterpiece In Search of Lost Time will gobble up this tale of family tensions, revenge and collecting as they reflect on a literary legacy that was almost lost.
A rare and wonderfully written book of literary detection, that is heartbreaking as well as thrilling, about the ‘afterlife’ of a writer’s manuscripts and the things he carried.
I read it in two sittings and just loved it.
This book is just my style. In the spirit of La Bohème, a brilliant aria to the coat.
Lorenza Foschini’s delightful portrait of Guerin and his Proust obsession (translated from the Italian by Eric Karpeles). The objects themselves take on a life of their own and do a jig in this little volume.
Charmingly narrated.
I read it in two sittings and just loved it.
Lorenza Foschini’s portrait of Guérin and his Proust obsession is delightful, and the objects themselves take on a life of their own and do a jig in this little volume.
How fitting that Marcel Proust, perhaps the greatest writer on memory, spawned this book, and others, on memories of himself! Italian journalist Foschini (Radiotelevisione Italiana; Investigation at Millennium's End) here traces the obsession of French collector Jacques Guérin to hunt down anything left by Proust that was not claimed by heirs. Among his startling finds over the years was Proust's overcoat, the "ultimate relic." Though some might chide the collector, who died in 2000, for hoarding his many treasures (he donated Proust's furniture and personal effects, including the overcoat, to Paris's Musée Carnavalet), Foschini points out that Guérin rescued from oblivion or destruction many objects, including letters, notebooks, an early edition of A la recherché du temps perdu, and personal artifacts. She also provides a harrowing account of the efforts of Proust's sister-in-law, Marthe, to destroy any trace of the writer's life that might dishonor the family's name. The translation by Karpeles (Paintings in Proust) is seamless. VERDICT This reviewer belonged to a group that read only Proust; we called ourselves the Proustitutes. Proust's Overcoat is urgently recommended to Proustitutes wherever you are.—Edward Cone, New York
