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daughterofceres's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
TW: Sexual Violence
I was excited to get into Kundera's books and started with this one. His writing is nice & there are definetly lots of quotable moments in this short story. The reason my rating is so low is that it seems Kundera has an obsession with rape and sexual violence. In nearly all of these short stories there are unnecessary mentions of sexual violence or desire to be sexually violent, the demented fantasies are more often than not superfluous and distract from the plot and progression of the book rather than progress them in my opinion. I've picked up another book of his, but at this point I'm very nervous and hesitant about starting it.
Edit: This does not impact my rating, but it's worth it to note this is a compilation of seven short stories, I was expecting one continuous story based off the desriptions here.
I was excited to get into Kundera's books and started with this one. His writing is nice & there are definetly lots of quotable moments in this short story. The reason my rating is so low is that it seems Kundera has an obsession with rape and sexual violence. In nearly all of these short stories there are unnecessary mentions of sexual violence or desire to be sexually violent, the demented fantasies are more often than not superfluous and distract from the plot and progression of the book rather than progress them in my opinion. I've picked up another book of his, but at this point I'm very nervous and hesitant about starting it.
Edit: This does not impact my rating, but it's worth it to note this is a compilation of seven short stories, I was expecting one continuous story based off the desriptions here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and War
Minor: Terminal illness, Abortion, and War
allisoncdn's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Easily the worst book I’ve ever read. The plot lines are deeply uninteresting and sometimes even disgusting. Besides the outdated ideas, the way the book is written makes it even more boring that it already is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Pedophilia
wreadin's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have mixed feelings about The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. The book is for the most part brilliant and thought-provoking. I love how Kundera weaves his narration into his characters’ stories. His writing is profound and reflective of history, memory, relationships, artistry, life, and death.
BIG eeeeek moments as well. But, believe it or not, the cringe bits don’t compel me to write off Kundera completely because I do find his writing contemplative rather than definitive/ pushing a dangerous view. I still feel that Kundera is an excellent writer and I’d love to read more of his novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Rape
naiadyn_19_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny and Rape
_marco_'s review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I was not planning on reading this book, it just happened. Which is why I think I enjoyed it as much as I did. This is also my first Milan Kundera, and I know it will definitely not be my last.
I want to start by stating how much I loved Kundera's writing. It is a narrative and a diary, fiction and autobiography, a treatise on existence and meaning, and yet impossibly easy to read. His flow of thoughts, ideas, and stories from one to the next is incredibly organic, organic enough to feel like I, the reader, am part of a dialogue. This is perhaps the first book I've read in which I felt involved with the author, as if we were sitting for a chat over coffee, or at least a public lecture. I was also blown away by the uniqueness, innovation, and stark ingenuity of Kundera's various and layered metaphors. "As infinite as an open accordion" and "the open eye of her naked backside" were two of my favourites, if not for their novelty, then for the heavy precision of nuance with which they convey meaning. The subtle poetry, the simplicity and airiness of style, and the exactitude with which words are chosen places Kundera in my personal pantheon of favourite authors.
I want to start by stating how much I loved Kundera's writing. It is a narrative and a diary, fiction and autobiography, a treatise on existence and meaning, and yet impossibly easy to read. His flow of thoughts, ideas, and stories from one to the next is incredibly organic, organic enough to feel like I, the reader, am part of a dialogue. This is perhaps the first book I've read in which I felt involved with the author, as if we were sitting for a chat over coffee, or at least a public lecture. I was also blown away by the uniqueness, innovation, and stark ingenuity of Kundera's various and layered metaphors. "As infinite as an open accordion" and "the open eye of her naked backside" were two of my favourites, if not for their novelty, then for the heavy precision of nuance with which they convey meaning. The subtle poetry, the simplicity and airiness of style, and the exactitude with which words are chosen places Kundera in my personal pantheon of favourite authors.
People fascinated by the idea of progress never suspect that every step forward is also a step on the way to the end and that behind all joyous "onward and upward" slogans lurks the lascivious voice of death urging us to make haste.
I loved the topic of this book as well. Laughter and forgetting, in other words, meaninglessness, and the human condition of living directly on that frontier between gravity and weightlessness. (read the book, and I promise that the nonsense I'm spewing will make sense). This theme is taken up in 7 variations and expanded upon therein. Each section follows a different set of characters in their own milieu, contextualised by the author's first person voice, and all placed in the wider political stage of 1960s and 70s Czechia. Every section of the book felt like a light meal to be chewed up and swallowed; to be pondered and scrutinised, to be reflected upon, and re-read in order to savour every last detail, every nuance and every meaning (or every non-meaning). This is a philosophical treatise made digestible as fiction.
As with most things I read, I highly recommend this book. Given the open-endedness with which Kundera writes, I also suggest reading this book with a friend or as part of a book club. I would have gotten so much more out of the novel with a bit of discussion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
A good portion of the book goes off into describing sexual experiences. However, I don't think that it's the same as smut. These scenes weren't necessarily meant to be arousing, but reflective, philosophical, and contemplative. This, of course, means that it would be much weirder than your average spicy romance. I didn’t necessarily find the misogyny that I had been told about coming from the voice of the author, but it definitely exists coming from his characters. However, women in this book are often depicted with reductionist theory, meaning their actions and choices are explained just by their biology. I wasn’t too much a fan of that, and it is a little hard to look past. I should also mention a very strange series of scenes that involve an adult character and an island of children. Whether the events that transpire necessarily constitute rape or exploitation is subject to debate, but be aware that it is very, very strange, and personally, I found it alarming.dmitry's review against another edition
I first read Kundera about 10 years ago, and haven't revisited him since. Reading obits after his recent passing made me curious how I would respond to him as an author now - and, oh boy, turns out one thing I'd forgotten with the passing of time is Kundera's intense misogyny.
I found The Book of Laughter and Forgetting a struggle - it's misogynistic throughout, and the text feels weighted down by its own self-importance. The final straw for me came at the end of Part 3. In a section that's more of a fictionalised personal essay woven into other narratives, Kundera describes - incredibly casually - his own desire to rape a female friend at a moment where she is vulnerable. I had no desire to read past that.
I found The Book of Laughter and Forgetting a struggle - it's misogynistic throughout, and the text feels weighted down by its own self-importance. The final straw for me came at the end of Part 3. In a section that's more of a fictionalised personal essay woven into other narratives, Kundera describes - incredibly casually - his own desire to rape a female friend at a moment where she is vulnerable. I had no desire to read past that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Rape
lil13's review against another edition
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Antisemitism, and Sexual harassment
agnela's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
My first and last book by this author.
2 stars because there is not many books that talk about nations and countries that were occupied by communist soviet union, and we desperately need to talk about this and see that it is a huge part of human history, human experience. And I kind of liked the style. Other than that, it would get a 1, if not a 0. If a book makes me want to only read books from female authors and about female experience, it was not for me. That is to put my opinion lightly. If a man likes this book and this author, it would be extremely important to know why, because there are wrong answers, and you should run if you heard one.
2 stars because there is not many books that talk about nations and countries that were occupied by communist soviet union, and we desperately need to talk about this and see that it is a huge part of human history, human experience. And I kind of liked the style. Other than that, it would get a 1, if not a 0. If a book makes me want to only read books from female authors and about female experience, it was not for me. That is to put my opinion lightly. If a man likes this book and this author, it would be extremely important to know why, because there are wrong answers, and you should run if you heard one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and War
oceanumn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.25
I understand the context in which the book was written, but it still does come across rather misogynistic, degrading the plot-driving women to fools with desirable body features.
I found the first 1/4 of the book quite boring, 2/4 part was okay, 3/4 was more engaging than the latter, and the last quarter was absolutely dreadful to read with (tw) mentions of rape and abuse (all of which premeditated quite in advance).
To be honest, wouldn’t pick up the book again. Didn’t laugh much, and already forgotten half the plot.
I found the first 1/4 of the book quite boring, 2/4 part was okay, 3/4 was more engaging than the latter, and the last quarter was absolutely dreadful to read with (tw) mentions of rape and abuse (all of which premeditated quite in advance).
To be honest, wouldn’t pick up the book again. Didn’t laugh much, and already forgotten half the plot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Rape
ludmireads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
This is an absolute trash of a book. There are many mentions of a main character wanting to r@pe some woman. The characters (men) misogynistic and all the women who are progressive or feminists in this book (well, let's be honest, ALL women) are presented as stupid and... and their only purpose is to serve as a pleasure "device" for men.
I also hate the author's obsession with sex, not to mention the scene when the children are giving pleasure to a GROWN woman. Disgusting.
The writing is trashy, it gave me huge Colleen Hoover vibes.
And Kundera's "witt" is more like a pseudo-witt.
I also hate the author's obsession with sex, not to mention the scene when the children are giving pleasure to a GROWN woman. Disgusting.
The writing is trashy, it gave me huge Colleen Hoover vibes.
And Kundera's "witt" is more like a pseudo-witt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment