Student Blogs

When I initially started reading the book, my first thoughts were of uncertainty.  I deduced that the narrator was attempting to sleep but got drawn into a wormhole of memories, resulting in a sense of nostalgia coupled with anger over lost time (especially the loss of his mother’s goodnight kiss).  However, this work may be […] read full post >>

by Samantha Rogers I have very complex feelings over “Combray” by Marcel Proust. I overall, did not enjoy the book as I found it didn’t really have a plot, and it resembled more of a stream of consciousness about the author’s childhood. For example, the story is of the goodnight kiss was sidetracked by the […] read full post >>

Hello Everyone! This is my first blog post about a book that we read, Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust. This book was different to what I have read, and to be honest a little puzzling at first. I suggest reading the introduction of the book in order to get a little bit of insight on […] read full post >>

Hello everyone, welcome to my second blog! After reading Proust’s Combray this week, I have a lot of insights that I want to share with you.In this novel, the author mainly recounts a childhood memory in Combray. In the first part, the personal traits ... read full post >>

Hello everyone, welcome to my second blog! After reading Proust’s Combray this week, I have a lot of insights that I want to share with you.In this novel, the author mainly recounts a childhood memory in Combray. In the first part, the personal traits ... read full post >>

Marcel Proust’s “Combrary” is a beautiful reflection of Marcel’s past and how this shapes his current habits. Whether it is his sleeping habits that are influenced, or the way he views architecture, in this chapter, the past is truly recognized for its importance. The novel starts by describing his sleeping habits, which he connects back […] read full post >>

In Combray, the narrator invites us along his journey of reminiscence full of nostalgic details and layers. The intricate details about Combray help us get immersed in this town, although it can seem quite overwhelming at times, it is undeniable that the attention to detail paints a vivid picture of Combray. As a setting, the […] read full post >>

“I did not understand half the words the lady said, but my fear that there was some question concealed in them which it would have been impolite of me not to answer made me keep on listening to them with close attention, and this made me very tired.” (80).  This quote humorously sums up my […] read full post >>

“Combray” by Proust takes us through the nostalgia trip of our main character. This one was admittedly a harder read for me. I found myself passionately reading on and on with these very descriptive adjectives being thrown at me continuously. There were parts I found to be rather boring and others I found truly captivating. … read full post >>

My initial response to Marcel Proust’s “Combray” was that it was confusing and full of long sentences that never seemed to end, yet it was also filled with vivid imagery that let my imagination run wild. Specifically, I appreciated the details of the narrator’s reflection of his sleeping process and the thoughts that ran through […] read full post >>

Huh? That was my initial thought when I started reading this section. It seemed like the author was saying some profound things, but in all honesty they flew over my head. I had a hard time following what he was saying, but after re-reading some of the lines it started to make sense (a bit). […] read full post >>

After finishing “Combray,” my impression is that “I believe he didn’t write a book but rather his life.” I feel my emotions about this chapter are contradictory; I sense I can’t grasp the endpoint, yet I am drawn to this descriptive style. Most novels usually have a central theme as an unspoken agreement. However, this […] read full post >>

To be honest, I am not a fan of this novel. I found it quite confusing and a bit difficult to follow. As discussed in the conversation video with professor Farid Laroussi, time in this novel is not linear. For such a long book to never mention the precise time is crazy to me. I […] read full post >>

Hi Romance Studiers, After reading Marcel Proust’s “Swann’s Way”, part 1 “Combray”, I found myself lost and dissatisfied. Conceptually, the idea of building a world through the lens of a child, and as they grow up and realize the beauty of the world they live in, so does the reader, was very interesting. The execution […] read full post >>

My first thought when reading “Combray” by Marcel Proust was, why are these sentences so long?  It wasn’t until I continued to read the novel and watch the video on Proust that I realized these unconventional grammatical rules and sentence structure were simply a part of modernism. The reason for the length of sentences became […] read full post >>