In Proust's work, everyone reads: servants and their masters, children and parents, artists, doctors, socialites. But Proust himself was also a great reader, reputed to have read everything and forgotten nothing. In his "In Search of Lost Time," writers and literature become part of this grand novel in various ways, with literature essentially becoming a main protagonist. Proust defines his characters through their readings and literary tastes: "To characterize his characters, Proust puts a book in their hands," writes Anka Muhlstein. In her small book on Proust, Anka Muhlstein highlights the central importance of literature in the life and work of Marcel Proust and entertainingly decodes allusions, motifs, quotes, plot points, and character traits. This has resulted in a well-founded introduction to Proust's complete works.