This 5 star rating is more for the entire series, but it also works well for this book, which is a stunning conclusion to Proust's masterpiece. The previous volumes were packed to overflowing with petty bickering, classist bullshit and snobbery, and I'm pleased to report that we get more of the same here, with some of the bitterness amped way the hell up. M. de Charlus has been a favorite character of mine throughout the series, and his downfall is both depressing and richly deserved. Also, people keel over left and right, faces become cracked with age, flesh becomes either loose or plump, and in general bodies start falling apart both due to the war and because of the passage of time. We get more of Proust's long philosophical digressions on art, and by the end you feel like you've gotten to know these people intimately and lived a full life with them. No one is really "redeemed" here, and people remain persnickety pricks, but Christ, what a beautiful series of books. And now, after years and years of having it on my "to read" list, I can finally say I finished it. I feel like having a drink to celebrate.