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*3.75 stars*
Such a thought-provoking and book, with some very complex and intriguing themes and excellent narrative devices. Unfortunately, my view of the book was pretty clouded thanks to the feminist lens I inevitably put on when reading. Kundera's portrayal of women is *interesting* to say the least, and it's slightly difficult to support the Jokes protagonist when he sees women as just sexual objects or a means to an end. Additionally, none of the characters were really likeable which may have been a deliberate decision on Kunderas part, but when you have to read 300 pages about self-pitying, vengeful and sometimes stupid individuals, you do lose a bit of your will to live.
For me, the book was definitely made by the themes and narrative structure as opposed to the characters and their storylines. The explorations of injustice, an extremely communist government and the importance tradition were highly engaging while the nonlinear, multi-perspective format of the novel added some much appreciated flavour.
Such a thought-provoking and book, with some very complex and intriguing themes and excellent narrative devices. Unfortunately, my view of the book was pretty clouded thanks to the feminist lens I inevitably put on when reading. Kundera's portrayal of women is *interesting* to say the least, and it's slightly difficult to support the Jokes protagonist when he sees women as just sexual objects or a means to an end. Additionally, none of the characters were really likeable which may have been a deliberate decision on Kunderas part, but when you have to read 300 pages about self-pitying, vengeful and sometimes stupid individuals, you do lose a bit of your will to live.
For me, the book was definitely made by the themes and narrative structure as opposed to the characters and their storylines. The explorations of injustice, an extremely communist government and the importance tradition were highly engaging while the nonlinear, multi-perspective format of the novel added some much appreciated flavour.