Sartre and Proust virgin.?

Question

I've never read anything by Sartre or Proust but wanted to start very much. I've glanced at a few by each but a lot of them seem quite complex and lengthy for a first time reader. What's the best book by each to start with?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Try Sartre's _Being and Nothingness_. As for Proust, try _Remembrance of Things Past_. If you are familiar with phenomenology at all, you could start with Sartre's _Transcendence of the Ego_, but stay away from it if you don't know much about Husserl.

If you are trying to compare the two, a nice "middle-term" is Henri Bergson. Bergson married Proust's cousin and was familiar with his philosophy. I mention this because Sartre was heavily influenced by Bergson, so Bergson is a nice mediating figure between the two thinkers. Bergson published a nice little book called _An Introduction to Metaphysics_ that you might find helpful.

Cheers.