In telling the story of writing a book about literature, this article draws attention to the various categories of obstacle (not only conceptual, but also institutional, relational, and affective) that arise while working on a research project and, at the same time, the ways of overcoming them. Included in the latter, the book's material — i.e., literature — was among the most powerful by opening paths of reflection, overcoming resistances, and casting light on blindspots. It is shown that, contrary to an academic conception of the division of disciplines and categories of skills, there is a much greater proximity than one would think between the conceptual dimension and the sociological description of reality and the intuitive and affective dimension of its literary construction. And if the novelist is often in close touch with unconscious, it is not inconceivable to think that the sociologist can be, or at least should be, in touch with it as well.