Book Review: Du côté de chez Swann by Marcel Proust

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Book Review: Du côté de chez Swann (À la recherche du temps perdu #1) by Marcel Proust

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I do think it is worth the attention and worth a second reread. This brushes on everything in the French bourgeoisie of the time: art, literature, writing; social classes; expectations between men and women; behavioral observations, snobbism, and inequality. However, towards the end it felt like the story dragged way too much; it was mostly a setup for Marcel’s love for Gilberte in the future (projection) and the explication for his involvement with Swann (thus relating Swann’s history and affair with Odette). I personally do no know if I’ll ever come back to this book or even continue to the rest of the series because my attention span is very limited. The prose is beautiful but having sentences longer than my arm and paragraphs bigger than my stomach is not really my style. This is the case of more is more when I am used to less is more ideology when it comes to writing and reading. In summary, I keep losing track of the story and the relevant events and thoughts while I was reading it.

“Those we love never truly leave us, Harry. There are things that death cannot touch.” 

“In every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again. Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe.” 

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