Combray
Combray is a nostalgic story filled with detailed descriptions of the narrator's childhood memories. What I found myself enjoying the most was the narrator's ability to describe his memories with such detail that it made envisioning Combray very easy. Proust skillfully brings both himself and his side characters to life through his writing. His amusing portrayal of his great aunt and the detailed descriptions of his family make them feel like any other family with their own drama. I would say however that the book wasn’t the most entertaining read (which I noticed was a feeling shared by many of you) and some parts of the book (specifically the scenes with his mother) made me put down the book and question what I was reading. A particular scene in the first part of Combray, describing a goodnight kiss with his mother, felt uncomfortably detailed. When I read this part, the detailed exploration of Proust's yearning for his mother left me uncomfortable, especially when he ...