This week’s reading material Marcel Proust’s “Combray” was very confusing to me, it felt like taking a stroll down memory lane. At first, the writing seemed a bit confusing, with long sentences that felt never-ending. But as I kept going, the vivid descriptions painted a picture of the author’s past, and it made me think about my own memories. Where more and more descriptions of events in the story became relatable to my own experience in growing up.

The story talks a lot about growing up and how it feels. It reminded me of when I was a kid, having those big moments of fear and comfort, for example,  when the author talks about hiding under the pillow during nightmares. It’s funny how we all share similar experiences. After some more reading, I’ve come to the realization that A big theme of this is about getting older and how it affects family relationships. The narrator, like everyone else, grows up, and the bond with parents changes. There’s a special moment where the narrator talks about the nighttime routine with his mother. It’s a way of showing how eventually dependence turns into independence. While it’s thrilling to grow up and step into a new chapter of life, there’s also a realization that parents will age too. It’s never just about one person growing up; it’s about how everyone changes together.

Proust’s writing places heavy emphasis on the connection between kids and parents. The impact the narrator has on his mom is beautifully portrayed as “traced in her soul a first wrinkle and caused a first white hair to appear” (p. 39). Where this really made me emotional since it became clear to me that time does not stop for anyone, your parents are continuously growing older regardless of whether you become mature or not, eventually, they are the ones that needs to depend on you.

Although Proust’s “Combray” was written in a unique structure that used mainly run-on sentences, where it felt like too much information was compacted into one sentence. This really did not fit well with how I read, however, further down the story the structure slowly started making sense of why it was done this way, it added depth to the story, where it is almost as if the author is trying to blend the words and feelings together to create a mix of feelings and thoughts that could let the reader connect with the story more. With that being said, this book was a very unique read for me, although I would not go out of my way to read this but it certainly was not a bad read.

A question I’d like to ask is:
Did this structured style of writing make you feel like you are more connected with the story?