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burntalmondmilk 's review for:
Žert
by Milan Kundera
Despite my hatred towards the author, not only because of his controversial history but also because of his perspective on women, I must agree that this book has a splendid structure.
The male characters are very well thought out and given incredible personalities that allow the reader to relate to them, however, the only female character that was given a voice was interpreted (AGAIN) as naive, love-seeking, and a sexually-frustrated individual. Which I hated.
Furthermore, the promising structure that could have brought this book to 4 stars, despite the terrible uncomplexity of the female characters, was not enough to save the final part.
Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the metaphor of "the joke" and how it ruined the main character's life, however, what I do not appreciate is a comedic relief in a serious book. The laxatives scene honestly felt like, Mr.Kundera firstly wanted to kill off the female character but later decided it was too cruel. But in my opinion, killing her might have been THE EVENT that would finally change Ludvík's outlook on his actions and how they may affect other people. I do understand that that was later done with Jaroslav but I do not think that it has the same effect as Helena's death would have had. Moreover, it could have added even more complexity and paradox to Ludvík trying to get revenge on Pavel Zemánek. A missed opportunity in my book.
Overall, the structure was good, writing language was also great but I cannot get over the sexist and terrible outlook on women and the mishap of an ending! 3/5 for me
The male characters are very well thought out and given incredible personalities that allow the reader to relate to them, however, the only female character that was given a voice was interpreted (AGAIN) as naive, love-seeking, and a sexually-frustrated individual. Which I hated.
Furthermore, the promising structure that could have brought this book to 4 stars, despite the terrible uncomplexity of the female characters, was not enough to save the final part.
Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the metaphor of "the joke" and how it ruined the main character's life, however, what I do not appreciate is a comedic relief in a serious book. The laxatives scene honestly felt like, Mr.Kundera firstly wanted to kill off the female character but later decided it was too cruel. But in my opinion, killing her might have been THE EVENT that would finally change Ludvík's outlook on his actions and how they may affect other people. I do understand that that was later done with Jaroslav but I do not think that it has the same effect as Helena's death would have had. Moreover, it could have added even more complexity and paradox to Ludvík trying to get revenge on Pavel Zemánek. A missed opportunity in my book.
Overall, the structure was good, writing language was also great but I cannot get over the sexist and terrible outlook on women and the mishap of an ending! 3/5 for me