Posited as one of the best if not the best novel of the 20th century, In Search of Lost Time was just asking to be read. I made my way through Book 1 and parts were really good and parts were really boring. I would not say this is a bad book. Far from it. Swann's Way is fantastically written. The sentences are beautiful and poetic. Proust illustrates human thoughts and feelings in a way that only a genius can do. So many times I felt what I was reading was exactly what I have felt in an earlier part of my life. The parts that I disagreed with, I would later reflect on and realize that I do think and feel those thoughts also, only they are more unconscious manifestations. In a way, I am Mr. Swann. 
 What is this book about? Swann's Way is broken into 3 parts. Part 1 is about a man who is falling asleep. In this opening section, Proust describes the state of mind when you are neither awake nor dreaming. This part is beautifully written and it also made me laugh during the section where the narrator starts dreaming of having sex with a woman. In the end, the narrator wakes up from his sex dream due to a cramp in his leg (which he imagines as the woman's body lying on his leg) and he begins to reminisce of the time when he was a young boy in Illiers-Combray, France (about 75 miles Southwest of Paris). 
 During these memories, the man recalls himself as a sensitive young boy, who loves his mother, and detests being alone. He is basically the sole child in a world of adults having dinner parties. His world is his bedroom and the countryside paths that he and his parents occasionally go on for walks. How the narrator describes his family members is quite amusing; however, later the narrator goes on a long lecture of the different churches in the area. This to me becomes quite a snooze fest unfortunately. The book does pick up again though and becomes thoroughly enjoyable. 
 Part 2 is about Mr. Swann, taking place previous to what happens in Part 1. Here we learn about Mr. Swann's life and how he falls in love with a woman named Odette. Odette is a complex character and I am left unsure whether I am supposed to hate her or appreciate her. She certainly is vile in parts, but I can't help but understand her character at the same time. Also, it is hard to know for certain how much what is said about her is true as the characters in the town all seem rather gossipy. This section of the novel is interesting, especially the beginning stages of Swann's romance with Odette. Every thought and feeling is something I am sure anyone who has ever been in love can relate to. Also, the book takes me quite out of my element. I am used to love being only a positive emotion; however, Proust reminds us that love can be a feeling that can rip a person to shreds. Love (or maybe it is actually desire) is enough to make someone go crazy and perhaps even want to end his or her own life. 
 I don't want to give it all away, so I will end it there about Part 2. I will say though that a lot of the characters annoyed me to no end. I suppose that is the point, however, and Proust is pointing out the fallacies of his era's society (which can still apply today when you think about it). Also, Swann himself annoys me during one section of the novel. He becomes so obsessed with Odette it is sickening. However, his love and devotion is admirable. Also, his vacillations in his feelings towards her is definitely something I can relate to from my experience in past relationships. Proust nails those feelings to a T! I have a feeling that the aspects of Swann that I detest are the aspects of myself that I detest. Proust, through Swann, is holding a mirror to my own psyche. 
 Part 3 is quite the snooze fest again. In this section our narrator goes on for pages and pages describing Florence, Venice, and Balbec, all cities that he hasn't even been to. So he is describing how he imagines them to be, which I suppose is somewhat interesting, because I am sure we all have our own thoughts of how we imagine our dream vacations to look. However, I must not be a fan of how Proust describes place settings because I was bored that whole way through, just like in the part where he describes the churches. 
 Later in part 3, our narrator talks about when he is slightly older as a young child and he is living in Paris. There he plays with Swann's young daughter, Gilberte in the parks and gardens around the Arc de Triomphe. This section of the novel is good, as it plays as a nice mirror to the romance between Swann and Odette. 
 I have to say, the philosophical enlightenments are what I love about this book. However, unfortunately, the book becomes tedious at times, hence the 3 stars. I feel bad to rate Swann's Way so low because it is well written. Perhaps this book could have used a little trimming. Then again, maybe the parts I find boring, other people find invigorating, and the parts I find thoroughly enjoyable, other people find tedious. 
 All in all, I do not recommend this book to everyone. If however this book is on your to-read list, you may want to pick it up at some point. The part where Proust writes about the madeleines is divine.