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A review by dmitry
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
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