Bought!

I get the feeling sometimes that I am taking this more seriously then everyone else, but volume 2 complete now.

This felt much more substantial than the first volume - not least because it is actually longer. However, key themes are starting to emerge: we have a greater sense of recurring characters, some of whom - Widmerpool and Quiggin in particular - positively scream generic archetype too much for my liking, though both are starting to become a little more specific and human. No explicit Proust references, though some banging on about time - with differing levels of profundity and success - and for fans of the interminable Proust salon scenes they are replaced by a slightly racier party, with fictitious royalty rather than some real nobility - boo.

Overall though it's a tricky second volume. E was right to point to a serious difference in tone, but structurally it's the same - i.e., big disconnected chunks - which could get quite annoying as we flit through a few years. Unlike Proust where the only two datable sections are the Dreyfus affair and WWI, I get the feeling that dates are going to be important in this one, so it would be better if we had some help. I'm still looking forward to vol 3, but I am feeling that this is still struggling to get into its stride. I hope it does.

And we appear not be the only people doing this.