There are some tedious stretches: in book 1, the Combray section goes on too long; there’s an interminable salon scene in book 3; and I found some of the endless misery and claustrophobia of book 5 and 6 hard to tolerate. But I promise you Book 7 ( Time Found Again ) is worth it, a pinnacle of literature, and moreover it justifies the entire series

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This is a novel that describes its own creation. The plot of the novel, in very banal terms, is how Marcel Proust realizes his vocation in life, which is to be a writer. He realizes this after a series of false starts: first, he becomes a social climber, who thinks the goal of life is to be witty and artistic and in the best salons with the noblest

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