MARCEL PROUST by Philip Thody (Macmillan...

MARCEL PROUST by Philip Thody (Macmillan / St . Martins Press: $12.95; 180 pp . ). In one of the first installments in a series of introductory essays to modern novelists, Thody offers a rather idiosyncratic overview of “Remembrance of Things Past.” Thody recognizes that “Remembrance” is not an easy book, and he provides some helpful suggestions for readers intimidated by its sheer size. (At 1,240,000 words, “Remembrance” is twice as long as “War and Peace.”) Although this study lacks the genial warmth of Howard Moss’ “The Magic Lantern of Marcel Proust” or the brilliant insights of Andre Maurois’ “Proust: Portrait of a Genius,” it’s not a bad preliminary book for readers curious to embark on one of the great literary journeys of the 20th Century.