Makeovers with Marcel
by Daisy Maryles, Dick Donahue, and Jenna Schnuer -- Publishers Weekly, 8/4/1997
Even the most scholarly reader would hardly expect to see the name of Marcel Proust popping up on bestseller lists. But the May 14 publication of
How Proust Can Change Your Life: Not a Novel by Alain De Botton has spurred a Proust revival and, although that gentleman himself isn't on any lists right now, De Botton's book has hit regional lists all over the country -- with especially strong sales in Boston and San Francisco. De Botton, who lives in London, has been doing bookstore appearances across the U.S.; still to come are are L.A. and San Francisco, where one of his signings will be taped to air on C-SPAN's
About Books. The Pantheon title, which has become a favorite with independent bookstores, has 30,000 copies in print after five trips to press. Because of its success, Random House's Modern Library is offering the six-volume edition of Proust's
In Search of Lost Time at a special package price ($110 instead of the $123 the books cost if purchased individually). Pantheon editorial director Daniel Frank said the popularity of De Botton's book can be traced to, in addition to the independents, "a wonderful review by John Updike in the
New Yorker" and online bookseller Amazon.com, which "has been a great booster." Before tackling M. Proust, De Botton concentrated on writing fiction; Frank added that he always felt that inside of the novels "there was a nonfiction writer trying to get out."
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