Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust

“Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were”

Swann’s way is written in a way that tells two related stories, first of which revolves around young marcel, the younger version of the narrator and his memories and experiences of his childhood town ”Combray”.The narrator has waves of nostalgia and tells how he does not like going to bed. He then revisits his childhood where we learn of how he would wait for his mamma’s night kiss before going to sleep, but also dreads them as a sign of impending sleepless nights.On one of these nights, Marcels family was visited by Mr. Swann and Marcel had to go to bed without his mothers kiss. Through these lines we can not help but sense the fear or insecurity Marcel has when it is time for him to go to bed. We are also introduced to his father who did not approve of this habit of his son, however, not later in the book he insists his wife to comfort Marcel as his father could not stand his pitiful face.

I believe Marcel’s childhood home, combray ,is described in a way that it  brings comfort to the readers. It is such that we feel teleported to this land, where the sun reflects on the roof tiles of the church, the hawthorn blossoms that line the path to swann’s house. We are made to appreciate the town in the way the story is narrated to us. This is the place where the narrator roots his passion of writing and his decision to become a writer and discovered his favourite author Bergotte, whose work was introduced to him by his grandparents and his friends.

As a reader, I was glued to each page wanting more, hoping that when I flip a page I discover a plot twist and this made the book even more interesting. It was a slow read for me however not even once did I want to put the book down. If one were to tell me to explain the story to them I am sure I would fail to explain as beautifully as reading it does. It was a book full of simplicity yet chaos as the roles kept on changing from past to present. It is no doubt a wonderful read and I would suggest it to every reader I meet.

My question to you is did you enjoy reading as the roles constantly kept on shifting from past to present and  if there was one line that really stuck with you, what would it be?