Swann's Way

"Swann's Way" by Marcel Proust is a novel written in the early 20th century during the modernist literary movement. This book is the first volume of "In Search of Lost Time" and delves into themes of memory, time, and the intricate layers of human experience. It primarily revolves around the reflections and memories of the narrator, often identified as Marcel, exploring his childhood, family dynamics, and his experiences with love through the character Swann. The opening of "Swann's Way" presents a deep introspection of memory and the act of sleeping and waking. The narrator describes his experiences of falling asleep and the vivid dreams that intertwine with his memories of the past. A sense of dislocation and confusion emerges as the narrator oscillates between the present and snippets of vivid recollections, particularly of his childhood homes and family. He reveals a longing for his mother, highlighting a particular tenderness that ties into his overall theme of love and loss, setting the stage for the complexities of relationships that Proust plans to unravel as the narrative unfolds. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel À la recherche du temps perdu which was published in seven volumes between 1913 and 1927. He is considered by critics and writers to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century.