This very funny book comes as an unlikely combination of two vastly divergent conventions: the literary biography and the self-help manual. The author of On Love transforms Marcel Proust's life and work into a no-nonsense guide to, among other things, enjoying your vacation, reviving a relationship, achieving original and unclichéd articulation, being a good host, recognizing love, and understanding why you should never sleep with someone on a first date. Alain de Botton was inspired by Proust's essays, letters, and fiction to create this oblique portrait of the witty and pragmatic novelist, demonstrating in the process how relevant Proust is to our lives today.