Skip to content
Cover of Swann's Way by Marcel Proust

Book · Classics

Swann's Way

by Marcel Proust

Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start Swann's Way, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.

Pages
711
Reading time
≈ 12 h 50 min
Checkpoints
20
Genre
Classic
Take the challengeAlready have the app? Open the book

Free on iPhone and Android.

How long does it take to read Swann's Way?

At 711 pages, Swann's Way is a doorstopper. Expect about 12 hours 50 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.

At 30 minutes a day, that is about 26 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 10 reading days. For a book of this length (600 pages or more), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 6.4 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).

Reading days to finish it
30 minutes a day26 days
Vread median pace (72 pp./day)10 days

Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.

Prove you read it

The Vread challenge: 20 checkpoints

  1. Checkpoint 1, page 36
  2. Checkpoint 2, page 71
  3. Checkpoint 3, page 107
  4. Checkpoint 4, page 142
  5. Checkpoint 5, page 178
  6. Checkpoint 6, page 213
  7. Checkpoint 7, page 249
  8. Checkpoint 8, page 284
  9. Checkpoint 9, page 320
  10. Checkpoint 10, page 356
  11. Checkpoint 11, page 391
  12. Checkpoint 12, page 427
  13. Checkpoint 13, page 462
  14. Checkpoint 14, page 498
  15. Checkpoint 15, page 533
  16. Checkpoint 16, page 569
  17. Checkpoint 17, page 604
  18. Checkpoint 18, page 640
  19. Checkpoint 19, page 675
  20. Checkpoint 20, page 711

In Vread, Swann's Way is split into 20 checkpoints, one every 36 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.

The challenge: validate all 20 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.

Also available in French on Vread.

Example: the checkpoint 1 question

Checkpoint 1/20pp. 1–36

Swann's Way, Marcel Proust

What fabric is the garden dress made of that the narrator hears rustling along the corridor when his mother comes upstairs to kiss him goodnight?

The answer is in the text: reply in the app.

Public-domain work. The answer, and the following questions, unlock in the app.

Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.

Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions

How many pages is Swann's Way?
The edition listed on Vread has 711 pages. The exact count varies by edition (paperback, hardback, ebook).
How long does it take to read Swann's Way?
About 12 hours 50 minutes of reading, or 26 days at 30 minutes a day.
Is there a quiz on Swann's Way?
Yes: the Vread app has 20 reading questions on Swann's Way, one per checkpoint, unlocked as you read.
Where can I find a summary of Swann's Way?
Vread does not publish summaries: the app supports reading the book itself, part by part. Checkpoint questions cover what you have just read, which makes them a good way to check you did not miss anything.

Read Swann's Way with Vread

Add the book to your library, read at your own pace in whatever format you use, and validate each checkpoint. Vread is free on iPhone and Android.

Take the challenge

Written by Vread from its catalogue data (page count of the listed edition, checkpoints, ratings aggregated from 10 ratings). No summary or publisher text is reproduced. Reading times are estimates; see the method in the Vread Reading Barometer (in French).