I read that "reading Proust requires extraordinary extra-cognitive perception," and that about sums it up.

He's weaving another dimension into his writing. I probably only really caught about 5% of what he was talking about, but that 5% stands as one of the greatest experiences I've ever had.

If you catch on, you'll start falling in love with his prose. This isn't something to barrel through and read for the sake of reading. I found the best I could do was something like skim it, but that was enough. It's like reading a poem, where it's not literary devices that are the object, but poetic essence.