The Book of Laughter and Forgetting - Kundera

[Kristel]

read 2015: A series of somewhat interconnected stories. I liked the idea; writings about forgetting but as with most of Kundera, just way too much sexual overtones. I appreciate Kundera's depth in his writings. The stories of the Lost Letters was pretty good. It is the opening story and brings the reader to communism in Prague. It is set in 1971. The second section Mama, I did not like. The third; The Angels again, I like this one, it is another one that features communism restraint on the writer. The Fourth, Lost letters is okay, the fifths is Litlost. A word for torment when one is aware of ones inadequacy. The sixth one is The Angels and is quite disturbing in its sexual content but reads like a dream or nightmare. And the last is a book called The Border. I listened to the audio and read it fast. It would be worth reading if the chance of discussion of the book would occur.

[Pamela]

Seven connected musings about memory and consciousness, where the writer laments the loss of connection with Prague and his past after the imposition of Communist control - sometimes directly and at other times through displaced characters.

I enjoyed the examination of memory and losing the past, particularly in the section entitled ‘Lost Letters’. I didn’t really like the fantasy type sequence with the creepy children. I preferred The Unbearable Lightness of Being to this, as it was easier to relate to the characters in a novel - here the characters flit by.

There is a lot to think about here and Kundera writes well, but the tone and the way his female characters are portrayed is a bit offputting for me.

[Valerie]

read Nov. 2024

This book was a chore to read. His writing is quite good, as you would expect. However, that was not enough to make me ‘want’ to get back to the book or enjoy it. For the writing only – 3*