In Search of Lost Time: Mahler after Proust

A twist on the French literary classic In Search of Lost Time told through Nicolas Mahler’s distinctive graphic novel style.

Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time is one of the most important works of French literature-if not the most important. Reading it can be life-changing. Nicolas Mahler’s comic is not a retelling of this classic, nor a shortened version of Proust’s monumental work. Rather, it is a surprisingly funny graphic novel, comically disrespectful of the celebrated work yet completely permeated by Proustian spirit. Complemented by his clear and sparse illustrations, Mahler’s minimal nature of text use is easy on the eye, even for those uninitiated into graphic novels. For long-time fans of graphic novels, it is a perfect entry into a beloved literary classic.

A compact picture stream through time and space, Mahler’s In Search of Lost Time is a brilliantly complex house of mirrors replete with Proustian motives and perceptions.