hardcover, 306 pages
Published Sept. 30, 2004 by Faber & Faber Ltd.
Does life have any value when it happens only once?
Would recommend.
OK. There's a lot to unpack here.
Firstly, I did like how Kundera can go on a tangent and ramble on and on about philosophical matters, and how they relate to the story at hand. It's impressive at first, interesting in the middle, a tad too much by the end. At some point I felt like he's just a) casually flexing and b) giving a grandiloquent and elaborated philosophical reasons just to excuse his political and personal situation (e.g. being a Czech emigrant in face of communist occupation).
Secondly, some bits by the end where quite boring, however let me talk about what I DID like:
- The "short dictionary of misunderstood words", where he presents a few words that are conceived ENTIRELY different by two lovers. His take on the phenomenology of relationships is fascinating and I perceive it as sooo true. We all carry a very unique and …
OK. There's a lot to unpack here.
Firstly, I did like how Kundera can go on a tangent and ramble on and on about philosophical matters, and how they relate to the story at hand. It's impressive at first, interesting in the middle, a tad too much by the end. At some point I felt like he's just a) casually flexing and b) giving a grandiloquent and elaborated philosophical reasons just to excuse his political and personal situation (e.g. being a Czech emigrant in face of communist occupation).
Secondly, some bits by the end where quite boring, however let me talk about what I DID like:
- The "short dictionary of misunderstood words", where he presents a few words that are conceived ENTIRELY different by two lovers. His take on the phenomenology of relationships is fascinating and I perceive it as sooo true. We all carry a very unique and personal baggage of experiences, people, stories, memories, that will impede us from having the same understanding of certain concepts as another different person, with their own very unique and personal baggage. We all crave understanding and connection with our lover but it's IMPOSSIBLE we're DOOMED.
- The chapter where he talks about Karenin (a doge) and the relationship with "its human" is sooooo cute and endearing and he talks about the love for a pet as the ultimate form of selfless love and moral grandeur and I find that beautiful. Honestly respect your animals already!
TL;DR: this was the first time I read Kundera and I did like his style. Became boring by the end, was in a rush to finish. But some particular concepts/ideas he brings forward I truly vibed with. Will try other books for sure.
The story takes place mostly in Prague in the 60s/70s, and obviously the communist background is very present.
It's in my category of "book with people in it" - Tomas, a surgeon and womanizer, Tereza, his wife, Sabina, his mistress, Franz, Sabina's lover - to whom I'll add the narrator, who "interrupts" the story on a fairly regular basis to give more explanations or to get into philosophical digressions/discussions.
It's also one of these books that you finish with a kind of urgency, because you know from the first pages that you want to re-read it taking your time, soon. (But you still want to know the story before you do that.)
And maybe the fact that I don't have much to say about it is of the same order that silence following great music is still music.
