The Book of Laughter and Forgetting


As a follow up to recently reading Kundara's Laughable Loves , I decided to re-read The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. I first read this rambling non-novel back in the 1980s. Well, apparently it's been retranslated, by Milan Kundara himself, so that the English is more close to his original Czech version. It's still a memorable read.

"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." I.e., the powers-that-be gain power by making the populace forget ... forget the past transgressions, forget the original justifications (for going to war, for raising, taxes, etc.), forget the wrongs. In Kundara's soviet world, this struggle was carried on quite agressively, as fallen leaders are deleted from history books, excised from photos, Pravda style. However, the same struggle goes on today, so, as usual, Kundara's words remain relevant.

However, this is not an explicitedly political book. It is deeply personal, reflective, erotic. Again, his hallmark blending of story, asides to the reader, and essay which perhaps only he can succeed at blending so well.

There are pages that are personally poignant; I read, and feel. Other sections I laugh out loud as he brings the character through a ludicrous situation, Kafkaesque-like. But, after reading it all, you wonder, how does this book all fit together? Its an enigma, worth re-reading again and again.

Highly recommended.

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Posted: Tue - May 23, 2006 at 11:45 PM

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