Chapter list for my book on Marcel Proust
A useful chronological list of all the published instalments of 'Oh, That More Such Flowers May Come Tomorrow'.
I wanted to provide a chronological guide and set of links to the instalments of my book, Oh, That More Such Flowers May Come Tomorrow, which was born out of my time/s reading Marcel Proust’s epic novel, In Search of Lost Time. So here it is.
Hopefully, this will be of use to anyone joining my Substack later in the timeline of publication, which began on 8 August 2023. I will add to this list as we go, so that it can act as an easy access point to any of the ‘chapters’, and build into a comprehensive table of contents.
I finally finished publishing all the instalments on 5 June 2024, which means every chapter of the book can now be found below.
I never meant to write a story – in which our hero confesses to heartbreak, a drinking problem, and contemplates a curious remedy to his ills.
Enter Marcel Proust – in which our hero realises the scale of the task he's committed himself to and then dithers for an inordinately long time.
I guess every novel begins with – in which our hero finally begins his quest.
Proust’s own reading was deep and assiduous – in which our hero theorises on the nature of reading.
The weeks following that New Year’s Day were cold, dank and grey – in which our hero goes to a party in south London.
The memory of that night in south London – in which our hero pays a visit to the cinema.
It’s fair to say the term 'Proustian' is most often understood – in which our hero reflects on the opening volume of the novel.
And so, as the Narrator lay idly woolgathering on the banks of the river – in which our hero recalls the numinous days of his childhood.
But let’s return to the ‘two ways’ – in which our hero first sees Gilberte Swann amid the hawthorn of the Méséglise Way.
I bought that first copy of Swann’s Way – in which our hero recalls his freshman days and a curious woodland haunting.
I’d been reading my copy of Swann’s Way for a while when one day – in which our hero remembers the desperate and unedifying adventures of his first love.
The Narrator’s retrospective empathy for Swann is the product of a life under review – in which our hero contemplates the nature of jealousy and how we might find our way towards an ethical state of love and trust.
By now, I was around 500 pages into my journey – in which our hero waxes lyrical on the troublesome topics of love and belief.
The Narrator eventually runs into Gilberte again – in which our hero finally admits to his true feelings for the Travelling Companion.
The second volume is called In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower – in which our hero continues to reflect on the cruel nature of jealousy.
As for me, after surrendering myself to the Travelling Companion – in which our hero recalls heady days at the Glastonbury Festival and his dreams of a literary life.
Things only began to change – by which I mean get worse – in which our hero recalls two very different trips to Paris.
In the second volume we’re also introduced to a character called Elstir – in which our hero meets the painter Elstir and recalls fond adventures with his father.
Towards the end of volume two, Elstir introduces the Narrator to Albertine – in which our hero recalls some lines of wisdom by Harold Pinter.
If, in the first volume, the Narrator sticks chiefly to the way past Swann’s – in which our hero ventures some dismal thoughts about the state of the world.
The Duchesse de Guermantes sits alongside her cousin in their box at the Opera – in which our hero recalls the endlessly protean countenance of his beloved Travelling Companion.
The Narrator’s trip to the town of Doncières to see Saint-Loup – in which our hero's father suddenly sets sail for New York and a dark dream returns.
Without warning, he called one day from Heathrow Airport – in which our hero says hello to his father and goodbye to the Travelling Companion.
Within two months, I’d received two phone calls – in which our hero bids farewell to his father and seeks solace in the many watering holes of Norwich.
The deluge that accompanied this decision was relentless – in which our hero finds a refuge of sorts in the dark heart of Berlin.
Perhaps the most telling description of the Duchesse de Guermantes – in which our hero considers the true nature of the Duchess and reflects on the meaning of lost and wasted time.
Given the frantic world we live in, I suppose many modern readers will seriously question – in which our hero recalls a family picnic in the dog days of a summer long past.
The fourth volume is called 'Sodom and Gomorrah' – in which our hero waxes lyrical on the subject of sex (yet again).
Of course, the Travelling Companion wasn’t the only one back there – in which our hero recalls his much-cherished grandmother and speaks to the perpetual presence of the dead in our lives.
And so, after Berlin, I ended up in London – in which our hero builds a shrine to his lost love and debates with disembodied voices on the streets of London.
These recollections of were so intense that there were numerous mornings – in which our hero considers Albertine, the ocean, and memories of Maria.
By the time of Albertine’s imprisonment – in which our hero considers Albertine's incarceration and revisits patrimonial parleys in public houses.
Being wound into Proust’s universe – in which our hero considers the nature of grief and jealousy yet again.
As my journey into the Proustian labyrinth continued – in which our hero has a vision of the Travelling Companion on Brighton Beach.
The Narrator’s shift from green-eyed grief to welcome indifference – in which our hero takes aim at the injustice and insanity of the modern world.
These were the vague ideas sloshing around my head as I began the last volume – in which our hero follows in the footsteps of his father and heads to New York City.
The war changed 'In Search of Lost Time' immeasurably – in which our hero continues his reading and thinks about war.
And that was when I saw him – in which our hero espies a curious phantom in Grand Central Station.
Some hours later, I caught myself staring at my reflection – in which our hero briefly follows the phantom once more.
New York is a town best seen from the street up – in which our hero takes a walk through a snowbound Central Park.
Heading east, I crossed Madison Avenue – in which our hero finds a strange sort of solace in Washington Square Park.
It’s at the very same party, where the sound of the bell echoes through time – in which our hero becomes the writer he's always longed to be and starts work on the book you've just read.