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Identity

by Milan Kundera, Linda Asher (Translator)

3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 · rating details · 7,452 ratings · 318 reviews

There are situations in which we fail for a moment to recognize the person we are with, in which the identity of the other is erased while we simultaneously doubt our own. This also happens with couples--indeed, above all with couples, because lovers fear more than anything else "losing sight" of the loved one.

With stunning artfulness in expanding and playing variations on...more

Paperback, 168 pages

Published April 21st 1999 by Harper Perennial (first published January 1st 1996)

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Oct 28, 2012 Mashael Alamri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, european-literature, favorites, translated

لي عودة :)

وها قد عدت:

"لا تستطيعين قياس المحبة المتبادلة بين كائنين بشريين بعدد الكلمات التي يتبادلانها, الأمر بكل بساطة هو أ ن رأسيهما فارغان وربما كانا يرفضان -عن لباقة- أن يتحادثا لأنه ليس لديهما ما يقال. "

لا أكتفي من الروايات القصيرة مع كونديرا, كنت أقرأ بنهم وبطريقة سريعة أبحث بها عن نقطة توقف لالتقاط أنفاسي والتفكير, لكن القراءة عمل عقلي لا مجال معه للتوقف خصوصا مع العبقرية التي تجبرنا على الحياة داخل الرواية والتفكير داخلها واستخدام منطق شخصياتها.
" شانتيل" تبحث عن أناها, لم تعد تتعرف عليه...more لي عودة :)

وها قد عدت:

"لا تستطيعين قياس المحبة المتبادلة بين كائنين بشريين بعدد الكلمات التي يتبادلانها, الأمر بكل بساطة هو أ ن رأسيهما فارغان وربما كانا يرفضان -عن لباقة- أن يتحادثا لأنه ليس لديهما ما يقال. "

لا أكتفي من الروايات القصيرة مع كونديرا, كنت أقرأ بنهم وبطريقة سريعة أبحث بها عن نقطة توقف لالتقاط أنفاسي والتفكير, لكن القراءة عمل عقلي لا مجال معه للتوقف خصوصا مع العبقرية التي تجبرنا على الحياة داخل الرواية والتفكير داخلها واستخدام منطق شخصياتها.
" شانتيل" تبحث عن أناها, لم تعد تتعرف عليها في تفاصيل تغيرت من عمرها, " لم يعد الرجال ينظرون إليها " كل ما يخطر في عقلها من تساؤلات عن خط الزمن الذي مرت به عن معاني لأفكار نمر بها نحن أيضا عن الأصدقاء الحب الجمال العمر الجسد عن الذات.
ومارك حبيب شانتيل القوي بصغر عمره الذي يشعرها بالضعف, مارك الذي يقوده حبه للبس قناع يحاول من خلاله طرد هواجس أرهقت حبيبته لكنه يقع في فخ السؤال والعبث العقلي الذي تنتجه الأسرار.
برأيي أن جمال هذه الرواية في غموضها, و بحثها عن الهوية بين متغيرات الزمن وعناصر أخرى من الواقع الذي تمر به وتتساءل عنه دائما.
قربها من الواقع بشكل كبير يجعل منها بوابة للتساؤلات والبحث في الماضي الخفي وما طرأ على إحساسك تجاه هويتك التي تعتقد كل عام بأنك بدأت تتأكد من معرفتها وتسيطر على ما يؤثر عليها.
الخلل الذي أصاب علاقة شانتيل ومارك , أصابني بالحيرة, وكيف ينظر كل شريك نحو شريكه و ما مقدار ما تتأكد من قوته وثباته بالعلاقاتك المختلفة.

أذكر أنني قلت لصديقتي التي تنتقد الروايات دائما, أن كونديرا أحد الكتاب الذين يؤكدون بذكائهم بأن الرواية ليست مجرد حكاية تقرأ للتسلية هي بوابة للعديد من التساؤلات واستجواب الذات, حتى لا أبدو "متحمسة" أكثر مما ينبغي سأنهي كلامي هنا.

*مابين القوسين في بداية المراجعة اقتباس من الرواية
(less)

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Apr 19, 2012 oriana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

Whenever I'm at a loss for what to read next and don't want to take any risks, I reread either Vonnegut, Murakami, or Kundera. I've probably read this book five times, but I love him so I don't care.

***

You know, maybe it's that old problem of how sometimes with really distinctive authors, all their works sort of blur together retroactively, but wow. Only the first like twenty pages seemed familiar to me, even though I am sure I've read this several times before. The whole last third, where ever...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Samar Ahmad rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

أعطوني نجمة سادسة يا سادة !

لي عودة -بإذن الله - ؛
--

عدت :D

هذه الرواية أكبر من الكلام، للشعور فقط..لكني سأتكلم ..

يصف كونيدرا التفتت القاسي لليقين، ذلك النوع من السرطان النامي الذي يهاجم النفس والجسد في وقت واحد، يأكل الحواجز بين الماضي والحاضر، يضلل النوايا، يزيّف معنى الكلمات، يشطر أكثر المظاهر بساطةً، يقلب الحقائق مثل قفازاتٍ ويحولها إلى خداع.
هذا ما قاله بيبر لوباب وكُتب في ظهر الرواية.
***
أما عن أحداث الرواية فهي تبدأ برسائل مجهولة تصل لـ "شانتيال" ولا تدري من أين تصلها، وفي رحلة الفهم والبحث...more

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Mar 23, 2009 Palsay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: translated-fiction, drama

Melalui novel ini akhirnya saya mengenal Milan Kundera, sebuah nama yang sering saya dengar, dan novel-novelnya yang sering mendapat pujian .
Sulit menceritakan kembali isi novel ini, karena bagi saya bukan saja kisah mengenai Jean Marc dan Chantal saja yang menjadi plot dalam kisah ini, akan tetapi gagasan-gagasan tentang identitas kita, kekhawatiran menjadi tua, hakikat hidup dan cinta yang menarik.

“Lelaki tidak lagi menoleh kepadaku”,

Demikian suatu hari Chantal berujar. Hal yang sederhana d...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Ananda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, contemporary

Lovely story..excellently written. Story of two lovers, Chantal and Jean-Marc..two people sharing intimate moments, hopes, dreams...until..doubt comes into picture! Chantal..oh..Chantal, I really couldn't get much into her character. I did try to understand her battle against aging, her wish once again to invoke desire, to be wanted with lust...But, despite my efforts I couldn't quite understand her. Jean-Marc truly loves her...yet, his comments and "I love you endlessly" look in his eyes every...more

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Aug 09, 2008 Brenda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Milan Kundera and I are both April fools, so I have always felt a sense of kinship with him. I do not know if April Fool's Day is "celebrated" in the Czech Republic, but I pretend that it is and that he, too, endured fake cakes and tricks as a child.

Kundera is best known for the beautifully titled "Unbearable Lightness of Being." This book is similar in that it explores human relationships but it's also very different.

Kundera has lived in France for many years and this book feels French... it f...more

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Dec 12, 2008 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars

This small gripping novel is the story of two lovers, Jean-Marc and Chantal. It moves from one to the other, following assumptions, emotions, beliefs and ideas - some shared, but mostly held in secret. It's about being seen, and about how we see each other. Identity is not fixed but is drawn from the mirrors around us.

One of the messages of this novel is that, in order to love, you need to be certain that you know who the other person is. Once you start to doubt your lover's identity, love is e...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Scrittevolmente rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sembra che tutti i romanzi di Kundera siano di per sé capitoli distinti di un unico romanzo. Essi infatti si richiamano, ciascuno condensa, prelude o conclude l’altro. Come ne L’insostenibile leggerezza dell’essere in questo romanzo non mancano i sogni. I sogni qui tendono a ignorare e a svalutare il presente, abolendolo, concentrandosi su un passato che lo nasconde. Forse è meglio non decriptare simboli che rischierebbero di catapultarci in una realtà che cerchiamo, inconsciamente, di non guard...more Sembra che tutti i romanzi di Kundera siano di per sé capitoli distinti di un unico romanzo. Essi infatti si richiamano, ciascuno condensa, prelude o conclude l’altro. Come ne L’insostenibile leggerezza dell’essere in questo romanzo non mancano i sogni. I sogni qui tendono a ignorare e a svalutare il presente, abolendolo, concentrandosi su un passato che lo nasconde. Forse è meglio non decriptare simboli che rischierebbero di catapultarci in una realtà che cerchiamo, inconsciamente, di non guardare in faccia. Da una parte si sceglie di risiedere in un luogo sospeso (una forma di leggerezza), dall’altra arriva il momento delle domande. Scoppia il dilemma della propria identità, si scopre di non averne una, che si sta divenendo trasparenti. Il presente si mostra arcigno e malevolo, e tutto perché abbiamo deciso di tenere i piedi per terra, recuperando una certa pesantezza dell’essere. Ne vale la pena? Questo il quesito di fondo.

Chantal, la protagonista di questa storia, improvvisamente apre gli occhi e si rende conto di una verità per lei sconcertante:

Vivo in un mondo nel quale gli uomini non si volteranno mai più a guardarmi.

Ciò è il segnale di un timore che si fa ossessione. Teme l’abbandono, di perdere Jean-Marc, di non saperne più nulla. Pure Jean-Marc è oppresso da un’identica preoccupazione.

Perché gli uomini non si voltano a guardarla? Semplicemente perché è invisibile, trasparente, priva di identità. Lo stesso Jean-Marc in lontananza non è in grado di distinguerla dalle altre, è incapace di riconoscerla.

Chantal è un personaggio indefinibile, composito fino all’inverosimile: al mattino è una persona, all’uscita dal lavoro un’altra, assume un tono di voce inconsueto, alto. Persino i gesti, in un dato contesto, diventano artificiosi, scissi dalla sua persona:

«Ho immaginato che tu eri un’altra.»
«In che senso?»
«Che eri diversa da come ti immaginavo io. Che mi ero ingannato sulla tua identità.»

Tuttavia è riduttivo condurre il tutto al fatto che Chantal abbia due volti: uno conformista e uno anticonformista, uno pubblico (tra colleghi) e uno privato, l’uno leggero e incosciente, l’altro pesante e problematico.

Per leggere la recensione per intero: QUI (less)

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Jun 03, 2012 Farris Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars

With this book, Kundera has officially cemented himself as my favorite author. Why? Certainly not plot, in fact I find his novels lacking in "plot." I thought I enjoyed his playfulness with politics, art, philosophy, etc - however that cannot be the central element because many novels play with these thoughts and I've found them to be self-indulgent. Through this novel I am given a greater insight into my affection for him: with a precision unlike any other author, I have found Kundera able to a...more With this book, Kundera has officially cemented himself as my favorite author. Why? Certainly not plot, in fact I find his novels lacking in "plot." I thought I enjoyed his playfulness with politics, art, philosophy, etc - however that cannot be the central element because many novels play with these thoughts and I've found them to be self-indulgent. Through this novel I am given a greater insight into my affection for him: with a precision unlike any other author, I have found Kundera able to articulate thoughts I never could fully enunciate and provide a teeming phenomenology for moments I thought only I could have experienced. In short, he cuts me off at the knees and reminds me I'm not so unique, my thoughts are not too deep, and my innermost heart isn't too intimately filled with secrets no other being can understand. I like this aspect because it is perhaps my greatest fear in life: being seen.

Here are two quotes:

"Remembering our past, carrying it around with us always, may be the necessary requirement for maintaining, as they say, the wholeness of the self. To ensure that the self doesn’t shrink, to see that it holds on to its volume, memories have to be watered like potted flowers, and the watering calls for regular contact with the witnesses of the past, that is to say, with friends. They are our mirror; our memory; we ask nothing of them but that they polish the mirror from time to time so we can look at ourselves in it."

'What troubled her so, she thinks, is the dream's effect of nullifying the present. For she is passionately attached to her present; nothing in the world would induce her to trade it for the past or the future. That is why she dislikes dreams: they impose an unacceptable equivalence among the various periods of the same life, a leveling contemporaneity of everything a person has ever experienced; they discredit the present by denying it its priviledged status. As in that night's dream: it obliterated a whole chunk of her life; in its place the past came lumbering in."(less)

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Mar 03, 2012 MOL rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: existentialism

Gana ilgokai trukau, skaitydamas šią trumpą ir paprastą, vos šiek tiek daugiau nei 100 puslapių užimančią, knygą. Skaičiau ją, nes tai vienas garsiausių M. Kunderos kūrinių, tačiau, skirtingai, nei visos 3 iki šiol skaitytos Kunderos knygos, Tapatumas nepaliko man didelio įspūdžio. Taip tai buvo kunderiška knyga, tačiau man šioje knygoje trūko kažkokios didesnės įžvalgos ar bent jau to jausmo, kai perskaitęs knygą, tiek pasaulį, tiek save pradedi vertinti šiek tiek geriau. Jis visada mane aplank...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Fede rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: narrativa-francese

Mi trovavo nella biblioteca comunale della mia città,con una lista di venti libri in mano,nessuno dei quali presente e/o disponibile .(credo che nei prossimi mesi farò INGENTI donazioni a quei poverini)
L'unico che avesse vagamente a che fare con la mia lista era questo libricino di Kundera (di cui avrei voluto leggere L'insostenibile leggerezza dell'essere,ndr). Le scarse duecento pagine di questo bignami mi sono scivolate dentro senza che nemmeno me ne accorgessi,piene di riflessioni esistenzia...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Ângelo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Assim a já alguns dias de distância (a meu ver a melhor maneira de remeter uma opinião), lembrando somente aquilo que ficou, se é que ficou alguma coisa, ainda tenho bem presente estes romance.
Uma bela história de amor entre Chantal (mulher bela) e Jean-Marc (jovem amado), Chantal, divorciada após a morte do seu filho, encontra em Jean-Marc um amor que lhe "incendeia" o corpo. Num encontro, previamente marcado, este casal ir-se-á encontrar num hotel ao pé do mar onde Chantal chegará mais cedo, e...more Assim a já alguns dias de distância (a meu ver a melhor maneira de remeter uma opinião), lembrando somente aquilo que ficou, se é que ficou alguma coisa, ainda tenho bem presente estes romance.
Uma bela história de amor entre Chantal (mulher bela) e Jean-Marc (jovem amado), Chantal, divorciada após a morte do seu filho, encontra em Jean-Marc um amor que lhe "incendeia" o corpo. Num encontro, previamente marcado, este casal ir-se-á encontrar num hotel ao pé do mar onde Chantal chegará mais cedo, e num passeio pela praia, passando por um estranho acontecimento no bar do hotel, Chantal interioriza para depois o exteriorizar a Jean-Marc que os homens já não se viram para olhar para ela.
E assim de uma pequena frase surge a construção deste belo romance.
A leveza da frase em Jean-Marc contrasta com todo o seu peso em Chantal... todo o livro nasce aqui, após um breve estágio embrionário e com esta frase começam a brotar todas as ideias do autor.
Este relacionamento amoroso após a ingénua frase ...os homens já não se viram para olhar para mim... sofrerá contornos fantásticos. A morte do amigo de Jean-Marc, a quem este nunca lhe perdoou a falta de apoio num momento profissional crítico onde fora despedido, parece um relato afastado e desconectado de toda a história.
Kundera cria um ambiente impressionante, de uma subtiliza única, onde a certo momento a Identidade dos apaixonados se confunde se dilui uma na outra.
Alternando os capítulos, curtos, entre o ponto de vista de Chantal e de Jean-Marc, o autor vai dividindo a história até a mesma se fundir num bloco só. Uma leitura extremamente fácil, mas com um conteúdo fantástico, onde o final surpreende não tanto pelo desfecho da história mas sobretudo pela ambiguidade de quando o sonho foi trocado pela realidade.
Os sentimentos, cruéis, são expostos a uma nudez sensível, erótica, sentimentos brutais expostos sem ferir o leitor. À medida que caminhamos para o final do livro somos levados para um abismo onde a leitura exige de nós um término rápido.
Uma leitura que recomendo. É sem duvida um bom livro!(less)

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Jan 09, 2011 Nikolay Mollov rated it 4 of 5 stars

Отново Кундера, в автентичния си стил, ни напомня, че без да съществуват другите, за да се огледаме в тях, ние не притежаваме идентичност. Думите на героя Жан-Марк: "между истината и приятеля винаги избирам приятеля" ни показва горчивата и жалка истина на лицемерното ни човешко съществуване. В това си съществуване "приятелят" е принуден да бъде кривото оглегало, към което да се обърнем, за да видим потвърждението, от което имаме нужда. Съвсем съзнателно ние се стараем да придадем тежест на идент...more

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Sep 21, 2010 Anil rated it 3 of 5 stars

Of book that make you a better lover...
...Or so the blurb says on the jacket of the Immortality by Milan Kundera

And that was the comment that made me grab it. Not that I need to be better ,still, in that eternal quest for perfection another small step taken by buying this book:)

Does the book suceed ? I don't think so. It does not make a better lover of anyone, and I should have realized that before. No book can. No book can open your mind into someone else's; which to me is the only way to be...more

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Jun 23, 2010 Caroline Alicia rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, june2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 22, 2010 Ramón rated it 3 of 5 stars

I want to give this book four stars because it unfolds so smoothly and the themes resonate with modern Western societies idiosyncratic ideas of personhood and community. But, the reality is that Kundera overreaches here, and his storytelling suffers because of it.

The omniscient narration that makes The Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Book of Laughter and Forgetting so compelling, falls flat here, making the characters themselves seem like cardboard cutouts. Is this part of his point, that...more

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May 11, 2012 Stela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews, postmodernism

De ce m-am gîndit la Lorelei citind aceasta carte, n-as putea sa spun, cu atît mai mult cu cît n-are nimic în comun cu exaltarea calofilica a lui Ionel Teodoreanu. Probabil din cauza artificiului narativ folosit: motivul scrisorilor ca proba initiatica pentru rezistenta cuplului.
În orice caz, finalul m-a trimis la alt motiv si la alte opere: visul ca optiune la real, ca în Sarmanul Dionis si Nopti la Serampore, desi nici cu Eminescu sau Eliade nu prea seamana Milan Kundera.
Chiar daca Identitatea...more

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Apr 13, 2007 shuchi vyas rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: to the depressed and those who want to know what a messed up relationship is like

Two people are in a relationship and Kundera brilliantly strings together their disconnected thoughts. The paranoid Chantal obsesses about men not being attracted to her anymore and is overly excited when she starts receiving letters from an admirer. Her lover Jean-Marc is forever disturbed for not being able to identify her in crowded places and mistaking other women for Chantal. Throughout the book Kundera oscillates between the very real and the imaginary.

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Oct 16, 2010 Splashconception rated it 3 of 5 stars

This Novel, true to Kundera's general output, is a meditation on the complexities of relationships. The question of losing sight of a lover's indentity, or the terror involved in not recognizing a lover seems to be the main point of this expose'. During the introduction of the novel Jean-Marc looks for his lover Chantelle among the women at the beach. She is concerned that she is aging and therefore men do not take the time to look at her anymore. What unfolds is a collection of secret lover let...more

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May 16, 2013 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first Kundera I've read but it won't be the last. Succinct prose, intelligent premise, devestating consequences; this short novel has it all.

Chantal and Jean-Marc are in a seemingly perfect relationship, but something chips and suddenly all their insecurities come to the fore forcing hesitancy in communication to rip them apart. The chapters are brief, and point of view switches from one to the other as their confusion grows, making this immensely readable and immediately engaging. A...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Nano rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

بدوري قد إحترت في تعريف لـِ الهوية ! .. جلّ ما شدّني اسم الكتاب لـأبدأ حقاً في قرائته ! ..
قبل أن تقرأ سيصيبك سهم تساؤلك أنت .. ما الهوية ؟! ..
كيف نعرف نحن اننا نحن .. او من نكون ؟
هل الإنسان يحدد هويته بما يريده او يطمح له او بما يفعله .. !
هل هويتنا هي أسمائنا ؟ .. حين تقول " من هو " فتجد رداً واثقا هو فلان ابن فلان ! .. هل هي بثروتنا ؟
بعلاقاتنا ؟ كيف تعرف في زحامك من تكوُن !
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ميلان طرح هذه الاسئلة من خلال احداث الرواية .. ثم طرح كل الاسئلة جانباً ليأتيك بصدمة أخرى ! ..
في آخر جزء له : حين ض...more

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May 09, 2012 Giulia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adelphi-scaffale-blu, mitteleuropei

Per comprendere e spiegare come sia possibile che un bambino impari tante nuove parole in poco tempo, nella seconda metà del Novecento alcuni linguisti ipotizzarono che i lessemi (le unità minime che costituiscono il lessico di una lingua dal punto di vista del contenuto) potessero essere scomposti in tratti; che il loro significato fosse scomponibile in attributi. Quindi, ad esempio, io Giulia sarei:

[+animata] [+umana]

E, allo stesso tempo:

[+animata] [- animale]

Dunque il bambino, una volta che s...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Zoë (In The Next Room) rated it 4 of 5 stars

"I get scared when my eye blinks. Scared that during that second when my gaze goes out, a snake or a rat or another man could slip into your place."

Identity by Milan Kundera is my third book by Kundera, and he's not getting any easier to review. His novels are just far more about the generalities than specific events. The main characters have personalities, but remains vague and unimportant, simply vehicles for themes and passions which are very universal. Identity is about who a person is, how...more "I get scared when my eye blinks. Scared that during that second when my gaze goes out, a snake or a rat or another man could slip into your place."

Identity by Milan Kundera is my third book by Kundera, and he's not getting any easier to review. His novels are just far more about the generalities than specific events. The main characters have personalities, but remains vague and unimportant, simply vehicles for themes and passions which are very universal. Identity is about who a person is, how their identity changes and evolves as they age, how it is relative to context and situation. Kundera maintains his gut-wrenching beauty sentences, although I definitely found Identity to be less about one-liners than Ignorance, which is also a thematic novel (is there such a thing?) based around its one word title.

In Identity, Kundera switches from the mind of Chantal to inside the head of her lover, Jean-Marc. Their relationship changes and evolves, influenced by thoughts they don't share and unique pasts. You are pulled into their world as Kundera discusses the complexity of love and need and desire. At one point Chantal sadly says that men don't look at her anymore and in response Jean-Marc is offended, shouldn't he be only man she be concerned about? Kundera explains with this gem:

"No, what she needs is not a loving gaze but a flood of alien, crude, lustful looks settling on her with no good will- settling on her fatefully, inescapably. Those are the looks that sustain her within human society. The gaze of love rips her out of it."

When we fall in love it changes who we are. We are a different person to everyone we meet, identity is not something rigid and pre-formed but a fluid idea that changes. In Identity, as in life, secrets are a part of who we are, our hidden thoughts. There are parts of the book I didn't love, a couple pages describing a fetus and self-fellatio is something I could have done without. Still, what this novel boils down is when Jean-Marc mistakes a stranger for Chantal, not even recognizing the woman he has spent many years with. In Identity Kundera makes a powerful statement about who we are, both to ourselves and the ones we love. ****
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May 27, 2012 Ahm rated it 3 of 5 stars

Chantal. Jean-Marc. Give me a break, both of you.

This book has a distinctly French sensibility that makes the characters feel, well, silly.

It seems that Kundera, like many male creators of characters, thinks of women as magical idealized sex devices who exist only to charm, absorb and reflect the thoughts of, react to, provide emotional stability for, be looked at by, and be wanted by men. And makes the mistake of thinking women think of themselves the same way. Or, maybe French women do. I hope...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Fahima Jaffar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

أكثر ما أحببتُ في هذه الرواية حواراتها الجميلة، الدقّة والذكاء اللذين يصف بهما كونديرا حياتنا وأفكارنا. حتى أني كدت أقتبس نصفَ الرواية.

ما يعجبني في كونديرا دائماً هو قدرته على دفع مسار الحدث دون خلقِ حَدَثٍ بالضرورة، أي أنّ ما يحرّك القصة لا الأحداث التي تعاينها شخوصها بل الأفكار التي تسكنها ولا تكاد تفصح عنها لكنّها تقودها لمصائر عبثية.

كنتُ سأمنح الرواية 4 نجماتٍ لولا نهايتها التي جائتني مباغتة. كانت النهاية قريبةً من الأسلوب البورخيسي - في قصته "بحث ابن رشد" تحديداً - لكنها افتقدت رشاقته وخفته...more

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Feb 08, 2008 GeekChick rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was SORELY disappointed in this book, and it marked the end of the road for me and Kundera. Not only was this book significantly shorter than his others, the story line was just unsatisfying (perhaps because it was too short to be adequately developed?). Also, I felt like it was a recycled story -- same old themes, but nothing new to keep it fresh. Kundera definitely phoned it in on this one.

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Oct 17, 2011 Emma Jackson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story follows the lives of Chantel and Jean-Marc, two lovers who lose sight of each others identity. It follows their lives over the period of time in which they both realize that they can't recognize the person they were in love with. It begins with Chantel feeling very old, and Jean-Marc trying to make her feel beautiful again. He begins to send her anonymous love letters, disguising his hand writing. Chantel receives them, and becomes obsessed with who is sending them. Jean-Marc finds th...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Fernanda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Un libro que trata un tema no tan común en Kundera. Usualmente cuando habla de parejas enamoradas, se centra de alguna manera en la psique de cada uno, convirtiéndolos en choques de acciones que los hacen ver entre lazados, como Teresa y Tomás de la insoportable levedad del ser, que incluso siendo una novela sobre ellos, realmente no es sobre su relación si no lo que envuelve a cada uno y lo que provoca que su relación tome dicha dirección. Sin embargo La identidad es sobre el amor, sobre lo que...more Un libro que trata un tema no tan común en Kundera. Usualmente cuando habla de parejas enamoradas, se centra de alguna manera en la psique de cada uno, convirtiéndolos en choques de acciones que los hacen ver entre lazados, como Teresa y Tomás de la insoportable levedad del ser, que incluso siendo una novela sobre ellos, realmente no es sobre su relación si no lo que envuelve a cada uno y lo que provoca que su relación tome dicha dirección. Sin embargo La identidad es sobre el amor, sobre lo que cada uno piensa del otro, sobre como se mal entienden, sobre una pareja con una relación amorosa estándar.

La historia se centra en Chantal y Jean-Marc, ambos se aman y creen que se conocen, cada acción desencadena un mal entendido, es una novela con el simple propósito de demostrar el rumbo que toma en un punto una relación y porqué se crean dichos mal entendidos, todo lo desencadena lo mismo : "No hablarlo" , "ocultarlo" , "menospreciarlo". Todo es importante y definitivamente lo que quiere decir Kundera es que jamás confíes en tus "suposiciones" sobre algo que haya hecho tu pareja, porque jamás sabrás la razón real si no lo hablan con honestidad. Los malentendidos siempre se encuentran a la orden del día y uno nunca conoce a la otra persona como creemos que es.

Tiene algunas reflexiones que van fuera del tema de la pareja, como una manera clásica de divagar de Kundera, pero eso es lo que lo hace suyo y único. Me gustó el personaje de Leroy que me pareció una buena añadidura, porque sin tener nada que ver , tenía que ver; fue bastante extraño.

Lamentablemente al ser una novela corta no se pudo ahondar demasiado en la psicología de cada uno de los personajes, pero pudimos ver un pequeño destello de ello, que al final no fue suficiente para comprenderlos, pero si al menos un par de sus motivos de reacción.

Definitivamente no es de los mejores trabajos de Kundera pero si fue bastante entretenido. Lo que si, es que solo podría ser apreciado en su totalidad por alguien dentro de una relación, o que estuvo en una relación apasionada e importante, de otro modo no podría sentir empatía por nadie en este libro.(less)

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Sep 09, 2009 El Habib Louai rated it 5 of 5 stars

Identity by Milan Kundera was the first books that I read for this great writer. Together with it I enjoyed the persisting presence of existential thoughts in other novels such as The Joke and the Unbearable Lightness of Being. In Identity as the title itself shows the writer tried to lead us involuntarily to the fact that many things which seem to us natural and out of question might turn into somthing totally unkown and whimsical. The relatioship between the two major charcaters in this novel...more

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Nov 28, 2008 delnaz rated it 3 of 5 stars

وقتی ژان مارک برای شانتال از مفهوم دوست سخن می گوید، کیفیت دوستی را در روزگار ما اسف انگیز می داند:«آنچه من همواره، از اوان جوانی، شاید از زمان کودکیم، آرزو می کردم کاملا چیز دیگری بوده است: دوستی باید ارزشی والاتر از همه ارزشهای دیگر داشته باشد»، همچنانکه قهرمانان رمان الکساندردوما «دوستی شان را برتر از حقیقیت و مصلحت، برتر از اوامر مافوق، برتر از شاه و ملکه، و برتر از همه کس و همه چیز» می دانستند. و از آنجا که در روزگار ما دوستی از محتوای اصیل پیشین خود تهی شده است، هرگز نباید «از دوست چیزی بخ...more وقتی ژان مارک برای شانتال از مفهوم دوست سخن می گوید، کیفیت دوستی را در روزگار ما اسف انگیز می داند:«آنچه من همواره، از اوان جوانی، شاید از زمان کودکیم، آرزو می کردم کاملا چیز دیگری بوده است: دوستی باید ارزشی والاتر از همه ارزشهای دیگر داشته باشد»، همچنانکه قهرمانان رمان الکساندردوما «دوستی شان را برتر از حقیقیت و مصلحت، برتر از اوامر مافوق، برتر از شاه و ملکه، و برتر از همه کس و همه چیز» می دانستند. و از آنجا که در روزگار ما دوستی از محتوای اصیل پیشین خود تهی شده است، هرگز نباید «از دوست چیزی بخواهیم که او را به زحمت بیندازد یا برایش ناخوشایند باشد.» امروز دوستی « مبدل به قرارداد و احترام متقابل» شده است و نمی توان و نباید از دوست بیش از ادب انتظار داشت.

ژان مارک روزی از مقوله دلتنگی و ملال برای شانتال سخن می گوید و خاطره پدربزرگ محتضرش را تعریف می کند: « مدتها از دهانش صدایی بیرون می آمد که شبیه هیچ چیزی نبود، حتی شبیه ناله و زاری هم نبود، زیرا درد نداشت، شبیه کلمه هایی هم نبود که نتواند تلفظ کند. او قدرت سخن گفتن را از دست نداده بود. به سادگی می توان گفت که او هیچ چیز برای گفتن، هیچ چیز برای ارتباط برقرار کردن، و هیچ گونه پیام مشخصی نداشت، او حتی کسی برای صحبت کردن نداشت، او دیگر علاقه ای به هیچکس نداشت... دلتنگی و ملال پدربزرگم با این صوت بیان می شد، با این آآآآ، با این صوت بیکران و بی پایان، زیرا بدون این آآآآ، زمان او را از پا می انداخت.»

ژان مارک می گوید که انسان در دوران ما، بیش از گذشته، گرفتار دلتنگی و ملال است: «زیرا حرفه های سابق، دست کم بیشتر آنها، بدون عشق و علاقه تصور ناپذیر بود: روستاییان عاشق زمین خود بودند، پدربزرگ من ساحر میزهای زیبا بود، کفاشان اندازه پاهای تمامی اهل ده را از بر داشتند... تصور می کنم که حتی سربازان در آن زمان با شور و شوق می کشتند. مفهوم زندگی مسئله نبود، این مفهوم، به طور کاملا طبیعی، در کارگاههایشان و در مزارعشان با آنان بود. هر حرفه ای طرز فکر خاص خودش، شکل وجودی خاص خودش را آفریده بود. طرز فکر پزشک با روستایی متفاوت بود، رفتار فرد نظامی با معلم فرق می کرد. امروه همه ما مانند هم هستیم و، از رهگذر بی اعتنایی مشترک نسبت به کارمان، با یکدیگر متحدیم. این بی اعتنایی به شور و شوق، یگانه شور و شوق همگانی زمان ما، بدل شده است.»

ما برای چه زندگی می کنیم؟ خانم عزیزمن، تورات از ما نمی خواهد که در پی درک مفهوم زندگی باشیم، تورات می خواهد که ما زاد و ولد کنیم. باید خوب بفهمیم که مفهوم این "یکدیگر را دوست داشته باشید" با "زاد و ولد کنید" تعیین می شود. بنابراین، این "یکدیگر را دوست داشته باشید" به هیچ وجه عشق نوع دوستانه، همدلانه، معنوی یا پرشور احساساتی معنی نمی دهد.

گزیده هایی از کتاب هویت، اثر میلان کوندرا، برگردان دکتر پرویز همایون پور(less)

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About Milan Kundera

Milan Kundera is a Czech and French writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke.

Kundera has written in both Czech and French. He revises the French translations of all his books; these therefore are not conside...more

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Quotes from Identity

“...no one can do a thing about feelings, they exist and there's no way to censor them. We can reproach ourselves for some action, for a remark, but not for a feeling, quite simply because we have no control at all over it.” — 76 people liked it

“Remembering our past, carrying it around with us always, may be the necessary requirement for maintaining, as they say, the wholeness of the self. To ensure that the self doesn’t shrink, to see that it holds on to its volume, memories have to be watered like potted flowers, and the watering calls for regular contact with the witnesses of the past, that is to say, with friends. They are our mirror; our memory; we ask nothing of them but that they polish the mirror from time to time so we can look at ourselves in it.” — 55 people liked it

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