The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera is a collection of stories that delve into the emotional depth and nuance of human experiences, touching on themes of secret affairs, death, love, and the impact of historical events like the Soviet invasion. The writing style is described as poetic and philosophical, with Kundera's ability to examine everyday life and make it profound, while also providing insights into Czech history and societal norms.

Characters:

Characters are complex and flawed, grappling with issues of identity, loss, and the implications of forgetting.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is characterized by a blend of humor and depth, with clear, lyrical prose interspersed with philosophical exploration.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot features seven interlinked sections that blur the lines between short stories and a cohesive narrative, focusing on memory and the effects of forgetting.

Setting:

The setting is deeply tied to the historical and cultural context of Czechoslovakia during and after its communist regime.

Pacing:

The pacing is uneven, owing to its structure as a series of vignettes that may disrupt narrative flow.

In February 1948, the Communist leader Klement Gottwald stepped out on the balcony of a Baroque palace in Prague to harangue hundreds of thousands of citizens massed in Old Town Square. That was a gre...

Notes:

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is structured into seven distinct parts, resembling a collection of short stories.

Milan Kundera blends various writing styles, including fiction, autobiography, and political commentary.

The novel explores themes of laughter and forgetting, reflecting on human emotions and historical memory.

Characters in the novel struggle with personal memories and how forgetting impacts their identities.

Kundera's narrative highlights the impact of totalitarianism on memory and history, particularly in Czechoslovakia.

The book delves into different kinds of laughter, distinguishing between malicious and innocent laughter.

Thematically, Kundera connects personal experiences of love and loss to broader historical events.

Kundera often breaks the fourth wall, directly engaging with the reader about his ideas and themes.

Through his characters, Kundera illustrates the complexity and absurdity of life under a repressive regime.

Quotes within the novel highlight the psychological cost of forgetting and the implications for personal and collective identity.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings for high include themes of sexual violence, political oppression, suicide, and explicit sexual content that may be triggering for some readers.

Has Romance?

There are medium elements of romance as relationships between characters play a role in their narratives, though it's not the central focus.

From The Publisher:

'This book is a novel in the form of variations. The various parts follow each other like the various stages of a voyage leading into the interior of a theme, the interior of a thought, the interior of a single, unique situation the understanding of which recedes from my sight into the distance. It is a book about laughter and about forgetting, about forgetting and about Prague, about Prague and about the angels.'

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is the most secret of Kundera's novels. This new translation is the first to be fully authorized by Milan Kundera.

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About the Author:

Milan Kundera was born in Brno and has lived in France for over forty years. He is the author of the internationally acclaimed and bestselling novels The Joke (1967), Life is Elsewhere (1973), The Farewell Waltz (1976), The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1978), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), Immortality (1991), and the short-story collection Laughable Loves (1969), which were all originally written in Czech. His play, Jacques and His Master (1984), Slowness (1995), Identity (1998) and Ignorance (2002) were all originally written in French. Milan Kundera has also written extensively about the novel in four collections of essays - The Art of the Novel (1968), Testaments Betrayed (1993), The Curtain (2007) and Encounter (2009).

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The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

Milan Kundera