The book of laughter and forgetting
Submitted 5 years 11 months ago by ericloner.
Kundera is often accused of misogyny, and this may be true of his (or his characters’) sexual fantasies. But when I first read this as teenager I was primarily moved by his female characters. In particular, he conveys the profound human sadness caused by infidelity and betrayal. Kundera also introduces the czech word litost to a broader audience. I dont think an empathy library would be complete without it.
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Comments
The world makes a lot more
The world makes a lot more sense with 'Litost'. How does the English language not have a word for this?
I'm not sure that I entirely
I'm not sure that I entirely agree but I do see what you mean. The chapter on Litost is a good example of your point: Kundera has a roomful of poets discussing women in a way which is misogynist at worst and at best completely condescending. Women are certainly made small in their talk but just as you are about to give up on Kundera and throw the book down in disgust, a classic Kundera moment occurs: The whole roomful of men has to act in concert, scurrying and straining, in order to avoid the wrath of a single woman who completely terrifies every one. It's a fabulous moment, and it certainly very often feels with Kundera, that he is simply inviting us to laugh at his mean-spirited, mysogynist characters. However, whilst his female characters can be very touchingly drawn, they seem to me to be quite one dimensional in some ways, and tend to revolve around the male characters. They are moving though, so I'm not thoroughly convinced that you're wrong.