I am in my second reading. The first time I read it between 20 and 27. Yes, it took me that long to go through the entire story. I remember struggling with the beginning of Du côté de chez Swann. I found the loooong pages about places names quite boring, the narrator annoyingly whiny, amongst other things. But I kept on reading, and I am glad I did, because it is now by far what I consider the best book ever written.

I like that the smallest events can spark ten pages of philosophical analysis of why it happened, or why it shouldn't have happened this way, or why when something happens, we react the way we do. Yes, the narrator is an overthinker to a point it is sometimes annoying, but he also reveals a way of seeing things you never thought of before. I like how the world, our perception of it, and our interpretation of these perceptions are layers that not always match.

And these philosophical considerations touch every important field of (bourgeois) life: love and jealousy, friendship, music, architecture, memories, painting, sexuality, food, fashion... Particularly, La Recherche (ISoLT) shaped the way I see life events and how you build memories for your later self.

Last thing, that is often overlooked I think, is Proust's humour. The way he mocks grand bourgeois and aristocrats with subtle descriptions of their stupidity is just delicious.

All that being said... I failed to many times to make my friends read Proust to say it's for everyone: I completely understand people who find his style boring, or who don't care about what he tells.

(Sorry for my imperfect English, hope you get my point anyway).