Yesterday I was chatting with my reading group friends about Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time.” I said I would wait until I was in jail to read that book. My friends all teased me and asked me when I would go to jail.

We have to start with Haruki Murakami's "1Q84". Aomame and Tamaru talk:

"How about Proust's "In Search of Lost Time"?" Tamaru asked, "If you haven't read it yet, this might be a good opportunity to read it again."

"Have you read it?"

"No. I have never been to prison, nor have I been hiding anywhere for a long time. People say that without such opportunities, it would be difficult to read "In Memory of Me" Read "Through the Time" once. ”

I haven’t read it, but I have bought it. The hardcover edition, one *** seven volumes, I gave it away. This is also the most expensive book I have ever bought.

There is an unreliable "Top Ten Most Difficult Books to Read" online, and "In Search of Lost Time" has always been ranked third, which is relatively reliable. The first is "Dream of Red Mansions", I really want to laugh. "A Dream of Red Mansions" is difficult to read, so try reading "In Search of Lost Time" and "Ulysses".

"In Search of Lost Time" is said to be the work with the most text among published paper works today. But it’s not that it’s difficult to read because there are too many words. If there are too many words, it will overwhelm the Internet. The reason why it is difficult to read is because of the stream of consciousness and the unconventional writing technique. It does not rely on the author's description from the side, but relies on the characters to express their own thoughts directly. It does not consider the completeness of the story, but conceives it according to the character's consciousness process. work. Give full play to the role of free association, with the help of memories and fantasies, without being restricted by time and space, and freely tailor life, thereby expanding the span of time and the scope of space, and increasing the capacity of the work. Therefore, the time sequence in the novel is reversed and intertwined, and the plot structure is loose and changeable.

Stream-of-consciousness novels are not a unified literary genre, and there is no generally accepted unified definition. There is no uniform standard for the specifications of novels, and they also vary in actual activities. Therefore, the expression technique of stream-of-consciousness novels is more complicated and ever-changing.

Recognized stream-of-consciousness works include Joyce's "Ulysses" and Proust's "In Search of Lost Time." This is also a book that is often mentioned in the comments under the unreliable "Top Ten Hard to Read Books" list.

Of course, difficult to read is only relative, so I can only call that ranking list difficult to read. Even classics such as "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in vernacular are difficult to read, so you'd better just go to sleep. There are many ways to entertain yourself, so you don’t have to force yourself to read.

There are many ways to learn and improve, and reading is just one of them. Reading will indeed play a certain role in our expression ability and understanding, but as ordinary people, the biggest significance is just to find a relatively fulfilling way for ourselves to play - that is still playing. It’s just time. Don’t take this too seriously, that’s about it. If we don’t write and don’t engage in literary work, the meaning is not that great.

For me, reading, watching movies, and playing games are all just ways to pass the time. I will be passionate about one thing for a period of time, but it will not last forever, because in my opinion, these so-called "hobbies" are not superior or inferior, they are all tools that can enrich my playing time.

So, I think that as ordinary people, we really don’t need to force ourselves to do anything. We can just live in whatever position is comfortable. [laughing evilly]