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Kundera writes cynically, politically, with and about moral ambiguity. Interestingly, by placing the joke as the inevitable victim of totalitarianism, and the simultaneous loss of any seriousness anchored to morality with the crumbling of that very totalitarian order. The Joke is clever, lyrical, and yet - it's not subtle.
Compared to Unbearable Lightness of Being especially, the rancour of this book's conservative politics and (rather confused) gender politics grate; they're often taken surprisingly seriously. This undercuts some of the more libidinal joys of what I'd expected from Kundera's writing - in that, I'm a little disappointed with this book.
The complexities of 20th century life that Kundera meditates on, he does with a clarity few writers offer. I don't always agree with them, but they're always something to pause and think about. It's those pauses where Kundera's brilliance still shines.
Compared to Unbearable Lightness of Being especially, the rancour of this book's conservative politics and (rather confused) gender politics grate; they're often taken surprisingly seriously. This undercuts some of the more libidinal joys of what I'd expected from Kundera's writing - in that, I'm a little disappointed with this book.
The complexities of 20th century life that Kundera meditates on, he does with a clarity few writers offer. I don't always agree with them, but they're always something to pause and think about. It's those pauses where Kundera's brilliance still shines.