SOURCE: A preface to Fancy Goods, in Fancy Goods; Open All Night: Stories by Paul Morand, edited by Breon Mitchell, translated by Ezra Pound, New Directions, 1984, pp. 3-12.

Proust's multivolume novel À la recherche du temps perdu (1913-27; Remembrance of Things Past) is among literature 's works of highest genius. Renowned for its artistic construction, this masterpiece has been widely praised by readers and critics for conveying a profound view of human existence from the perspectives of social history, philosophy, and psychology. In the following excerpt taken from a preface that was originally published in Tendres Stocks (1921), Proust commends Morand's ability to "join things by new relationships" and lauds his portrayal of the women in Fancy Goods, but faults his imagery.

The Athenians are slow in execution. As yet only three young damsels, or dames, have been given up to Morand our Minotaur ["Clarissa," "Delphine," and "Aurora"—the title...