Ok so this might be a retarded question but I can't find the answer anywhere.. Should I read the books of In Search Of Lost time in one go(without reading anything else inbetween) or is it okay if for example i'd read another novel inbetween to parts.. also how hard would it be to read it for a 20 year old?
How well have you learnt your French?
>>7720515
i have an english translation
>>>/QTDDTOT/
There are many variables when it comes to reading Proust and deriving any enjoyment from the experience.
First, yes, you should try to do it in one go, without reading different books in between volumes.
Next, DON'T HURRY. If you do, you will feel cheated. The book is about, among many other things, the painfully slow-development of "the self". I don't know what edition you had, but I was fortunate enough to obtain a very old, two-volume Random House edition from the 1940s. It made Proust's page-long paragraphs really something to look at, savor, and enjoy reading through at a slow, steady pace.
I read it for the first time at 26, and I think there are some definite advantages to reading it when you've experienced more - the transience of fashion, the exultation and ultimate disillusionment of love, the ever-changing dynamics of friendship. At 20, you've got years of good suffering ahead of you.
It will be a struggle, but not like Joyce or Faulkner. There are no radical modernist experiments, just the counter-cultural demand to slow down and take your time.
>>7720480
You have to finish it in one sitting obviously.Reading other books in between is perfectly fine, and actually better if you notice you're struggling. It's far worse pulling yourself through and losing experiences/not enjoying yourself. Trust me, it happened to me and I regret it immensely - just reading some parts and not actually processing completely what's happening. It will undoubtedly happen to you as it's very dense and boring sometimes. But it's definitely worth it.
