Go to Swann's side

Author: (French) Marcel Proust translated by Zhou Kexi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: With this house, the scenery of this small town, whether sunny or rainy, from morning to night, also appears, as well as the square where I often played before lunch, the streets where I often bought things, and the small paths where we often took walks on sunny days. This is very similar to a game played by the Japanese. They fold small pieces of paper, immerse them in a porcelain bowl filled with clear water, and these small pieces of paper with similar shapes, as they sink, unfold one after another, revealing their outlines, displaying their colors, changing endlessly, sometimes resembling flowers, sometimes houses, or people, each with its own unique and lifelike appearance. Now, it is the same. Our garden and all the flowers in Mr. Swann's nursery, as well as the lotus flowers in the River Vivera, the simple villagers and their small houses, the church, the entire Combray and its surroundings, everything, in vibrant forms, detailed and miniature, all streets and alleys and gardens, all emerged from my teacup.