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A review by mrs_schwarz
Identity by Milan Kundera
4.0
Are we a product of our own or a reflection of what the others see us? Do we adopt traits that the others want us to have? Most importantly, why the others percieve and see us in a certain way?
Our true identity is never known to the other in front of us, mostly because we are not aware of our own identity. Constantly fluid, impossible to be definitively shaped, our identity is shaped by thoughts and emotions, as well as thoughts and emotions are shaped by our identity. In this vicious cycle our life experience stands above as a catalyst for the never ending relationship between inner forces.
How much is love influenced by the identity of the other? How close are we to idolize the other? How tempted are we to see the other as the center of the universe? Isn’t love the best way to make ourselves fragile, isolated from the world and vulnerable? What would happen if for a moment we wouldn’t recognize the other, that person that we have the illusion to know as much as ourself?
Kundera doesn’t answer any of these questions. He finds a way to pop them in your mind and abandons you in the struggle of finding the answers.
A very nice novel to explore our own perception of identity, communication and relationships.
Our true identity is never known to the other in front of us, mostly because we are not aware of our own identity. Constantly fluid, impossible to be definitively shaped, our identity is shaped by thoughts and emotions, as well as thoughts and emotions are shaped by our identity. In this vicious cycle our life experience stands above as a catalyst for the never ending relationship between inner forces.
How much is love influenced by the identity of the other? How close are we to idolize the other? How tempted are we to see the other as the center of the universe? Isn’t love the best way to make ourselves fragile, isolated from the world and vulnerable? What would happen if for a moment we wouldn’t recognize the other, that person that we have the illusion to know as much as ourself?
Kundera doesn’t answer any of these questions. He finds a way to pop them in your mind and abandons you in the struggle of finding the answers.
A very nice novel to explore our own perception of identity, communication and relationships.