I've read this version of Proust a few times over the years, so I was very pleased to see that it had become available on the Kindle.
From what I've read of it (just part of the Lydia Davis section), the Penguin translation is very good, but it has always bothered me that different people translated different sections of the story.
Proust can be difficult to read, and it always takes me a while to get going. In particular, it takes me awhile to come to terms with the long and complicated sentences. Every time I've read the book, I've struggled until the point, about 300 pages in, when the style becomes natural and almost conversational. Rightly or wrongly, the idea of hitting changes in tone in the Penguin edition, as new translators come on board in the Penguin translation scares me. I worry about having to come to terms with those long sentences again and again. So I've stayed with this one.
And my relationship is with this translation. It seems likely to me that the Lydia Davis version is more accurate. But when I began reading Proust, this was my text. It may be that the tone here is a bit off; but this is the tone that I became attached to. Even if it's wrong, it's the one that I'm used to. It's like an old friend at this point. Most English speaking readers of Proust have been in the same boat.
I can't figure out why they've released Volume 1 for Kindle without releasing Volumes 2 and 3. It shouldn't be so hard to get a decent version that's consistent (translated by the same people through the entire story) and complete. The text of the printed version of this book can be a little small if you're middle aged, so being able to read on the Kindle with its adjustable font sizes is a great thing. But you can only do the first third on the Kindle. After that, you're back to the printed version.
There are other versions in the Kindle store by the same translators that are complete. I'm suspicious of them for no good reason. I've never dug into the history of Moncrief and Kilmartin and the people who have taken charge of the text since then. I don't know if the version of the translation that is out of copyright is solid, or if the work that's come since is necessary. Mostly, I don't want to think about those things. I just want to buy a copy of the book I know and love for my Kindle.
So I hope they come out with the rest of it soon.
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