First, I will admit first that I bought this book soley on the awesomeness of the cover.  I figured that it being a classic made it worth the purchase.  Second, you’ll notice how long it’s been since my last book.  That’s how long it took me to finish this damn book.  I can’t necessarily blame the book.  Sometimes when you get interrupted by too many things, you lose steam.  And if the book is more of a leisurely read which requires concentration and appreciation for the language, it becomes very hard to keep going.  I reached a point in this book just over halfway through where it just became a matter of finishing the damn thing and moving on.

That said, if you have the time, it really is a well written story.  There are three parts, all somewhat related but switching between the lives of two characters in a turn of the century French world.  I loved the imagery.  As a Francophile, I love to hear about little French towns or the chaos of Paris, especially when it’s old timey.  Proust does a great job of painting a vivid portrait of the world in which the main characters live.  

Swann’s Way is the first in a series of three books called “In Search of Lost Time.”  Can’t say I’m gung-ho to start the next two, but I wouldn’t totally rule it out.  Swann’s Way is definitely a slow burn, but you can certainly appreciate the care with which it was written and the world that Proust created.