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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
ratkowe's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-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? Yes
1.0
Only finished because it was the only book I had on a flight. So much sexual assault and too many outdated ideas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
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
miles_'s review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
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