Combray By Proust

Personally, I did not enjoy reading this novel. As I started reading this novel, I soon realized that every event was described in such fine detail that sometimes it got me a bit lost in what I was reading. It felt if my mind slightly wandered off, I would not be able to understand what the author was currently trying to describe and portray. In addition, the constant changing of the past and present perspectives made it extremely difficult to follow what was happening as it was hard to grasp the sequence of events that was transpiring. Thus, I could not comprehend the story in full detail.

What struck me as interesting as I read this book was definitely how well he could articulate his childhood memories such as when he missed his mother's goodnight kisses, his father being so adamantly against this display of affection, or his family dynamics. The way his grandma used to purchase second-hand goods as gifts to show how these objects can give glimpses of other individual's lives or how she used to preserve memories, not by materialistic possessions but with photographs. Furthermore, I really enjoyed reading how when the narrator was drinking Madeline dipped in tea, it triggered a flood of memories from his childhood in the town of Combray. When he shared that him tasting the tea whisked him back through memory lane made me feel somewhat empathetic as I understood how the smallest changes in our stimuli could trigger flashbacks of our past.

However, one aspect that made me perplexed was the relationship between the author and his mother. It was very odd of how much he yearned for his mother's goodnight kisses and how he would be saddened and would sometimes cry if his mother did not give him what he wanted. There might be a few details that I missed throughout reading the first chapter of Combray but I found it ridiculous of how much he yearned for his mother. As well, I found his father very up-stuck and strict. The narrator's infatuation for his mother was very odd but how his father was so against the display of affection between the narrator and his mother. I was somewhat frustrated on why he vehemently denied that these kind of rituals are ridiculous.

Overall, I enjoy some parts of the read such as when the how describing that tasting the tea could give us a trip back through memory lane, but, to be honest, it was a bit of a drag to read through every detailed description of his memories. 

Discussion question:

When did a change in sensations triggered a flood of memories to play in your mind?