Général de Froberville, the Marquis de Bréauté, Charles Swann, and an observer:
Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way, trans. Lydia Davis (New York: Viking, 2002).
Each man in this scene wears a monocle. Individual monocles, as seen from Swann’s perspective, are the subject of extensive description before and after this sentence.
Related reading
All OCA Proust posts (Pinboard)
Friday, December 25, 2020
An observer observed observing
By Michael Leddy at 9:34 AM comments: 0
Christmas 1920
[“Tree for Horses in Boston: They Nibble Apples and Sugar From Branches in Post Office Square.” The New York Times, December 25, 1920.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it.
[Post Office Square: at the intersection of Milk, Congress, Pearl, and Water Streets.]
By Michael Leddy at 7:56 AM comments: 0
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Cover for the turn of the year
[Harry Bliss, “In with the New.” The New Yorker, December 28, 2020. Click for a larger view.]
Some background on the cover here.
[There’s still plenty of time for him to burn things. But today it’s time for golf.]
By Michael Leddy at 2:58 PM comments: 2
Alvin will return
Gunther at Lexikaliker shares the good news that Alvin & Co. will return. A welcome development for all fans of “supplies.”
By Michael Leddy at 2:48 PM comments: 2
Mystery actor
[Click for a larger view.]
Do you recognize her? Leave your answer in a comment. I’ll drop a hint if necessary.
*
Here’s a hint: There’s a farm in her future.
*
Another hint: Also space travel.
*
Oh well. The answer is now in the comments.
More mystery actors (Collect them all!)
? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ?
[Garner’s Modern English Usage notes that “support for actress seems to be eroding.” I use actor.]
By Michael Leddy at 8:38 AM comments: 3
“Pestilential and longed-for”
Two staircases. Odette will travel one, to her old dressmaker’s apartment. Swann now travels the other, in the home of the Marquise de Saint-Euverte.
Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way, trans. Lydia Davis (New York: Viking, 2002).
Related reading
All OCA Proust posts (Pinboard)
[Anfractuosity : “a winding channel or course
especially : an intricate path or process (as of the mind).”]
By Michael Leddy at 8:31 AM comments: 0
Dokchok
[All foods are vignettes. Click for a larger vignette.]
We ordered takeout yesterday, the last takeout of the year before our favorite restaurant (Thai) closes for a short vacation. And we received a special treat: dokchok, or dokjok, a traditional Thai dessert. It’s delicious — a thin, crispy treat. Here’s an explanation of how it’s made.
Thank you, Mao, Aoy, and Pean.
By Michael Leddy at 8:29 AM comments: 2
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
“You can take me home”
Swann sometimes finds himself at a party that Odette too is attending.
Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way, trans. Lydia Davis (New York: Viking, 2002).
I like the way this difficult sentence comes to such a breezy end, with words of some consequence “tossed at” someone who’s about to leave.
Related reading
All OCA Proust posts (Pinboard)
[Bal des Incohérents: "The Incoherents were artists who mocked the official salons and organized highly successful exhibitions of their own starting in 1882. They celebrated the opening day with a costume ball.“ (Translator’s note.) They might be described as proto-Dadaists.]
By Michael Leddy at 8:42 AM comments: 0
An unexpected question
I’m zooming through the frozen foods aisle when I hear a voice behind me:
“Are you [unintelligible]?”
Was he talking to me? I turned around to look. He pulled down his mask to speak. Jeez. I wanted to move on, and away.
“Uh, no,” I said, and turned back around.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm,” he said.
“Oh, I know,” I said, still moving forward. “I just wasn’t sure that you were talking to me.”
It wasn’t until I was in the next aisle that I realized what he had asked: “Are you from England?” He must have noticed my beret. I can’t think of another explanation.
[Okay, granted, it was a Kangol Anglobasque beret. But it looks like a beret, nothing Anglo- about it. But as a reader points out in the comments, there is something Anglo about a beret. But I still feel okay about having felt baffled.]
By Michael Leddy at 8:39 AM comments: 13
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
For D.W. Read fans only
At 4:30 p.m.: Arthur.
At 5:00 p.m: DW News.
[In truth, DW is the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. D.W. Read is Arthur’s sister.]
By Michael Leddy at 5:17 PM comments: 0