The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

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Summary: Kundera tiptoes on the border
Review: I slowed down towards the last 30 pages or so because the book has added new thoughts into my everyday life, and piece together and make sense of old thoughts. It amazes me that the english language can be written this way through a translator of originally czech text. The book is an incredible work. I highly recommend it, although you could probably pick up a used one at a local bookstore instead of buying it at amazon.

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Summary: Raw and thought provoking
Review: Kundera's raw, honest, eclectic style and satiric humor captures life in its nudity. His writing is most complex at its simplest and tragic at its funniest. It mocks and embraces the angst ridden characters in their repudiation and profession of intellectualism as it exposes the similarity in seemingly contradictory things. The novel escapes all known formats to frolic with criticism, music, art, sex and politics, randomly throwing scraps of insights, memories and lies. He takes the gloom out of existentialism carrying Camus and Sartre to new heights. Refreshing and offensive! - V. Roy

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Summary: Thought provoking.
Review: This is the first 'book' :) I've read by Milan Kundera, and I love it. It took me a while to read this book, not because it's slow, but because I had to stop to think. The section on 'Litost' is extraordinary. I strongly recomend it.

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Summary: Powerful vignettes
Review: Another classic by Milan Kundera. Though this complete text did not resonate with me as The Unbearable Lightness of Being did, it contains a chapter/short story title "The Hitchhiking Game" that is the reason i picked up this book. When words on a page can bring you powerful reactions and emotions, there is something to be respected. See what this story does for you..

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Summary: Kundera's best, and most representative, book
Review: The chapter on litost changed the way I perceive the world. As always, Kundera is humorous and full of insight.

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Summary: Brilliant!
Review: I can't seem to keep this wonderful novel. I lend it it out- and it doesn't return. I have bought 6 copies so far. You can never read this piece too many times. With every reading, you can derive a different meaning. He is so subtle, sensual, compassiionate, and harsh. The only other author that I can think of that leaves his characters so naked is Dosteosky. Kundera, however, is far more compassionate about human nature. His revealing portrayals let us learn more about human sexuality and interaction. His humor is honest and without trappings. Some of his other work falls short of this. Life is Elsewhere is also quite good, but not as good as The Book of Laughter and Forgetting.

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Summary: fascinating tragic ... wonderful
Review: might be this is the book that will change your life by ita wisdom. full of tragic fun, never let you just stay reading without moving your imagination. god! this fantastic magic-realist made me very very impressed. i suggest you reader to read another kundera's book: "immortality", "life is elsewhere", and of course "testament of betrayal".

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Summary: tragically funny, surreal yet relevent
Review: On a list of my top five favorite books of all time, this book would probably be first. More so than any other Milan Kundera book I've read (and I've read quite a few), this book is the quintessential blend of Kundera's trademark humor, tangential insights, and passionate characters. More a series of loosely-related short stories than a full novel, TBoLaF is a whimsical jaunt that masquerades as a light read while imparting significant observations and lessons about the human animal. This was the first MK book I ever read, and I think it is an excellent introduction to his body of work. While many site The Unbearable Lightness of Being as MK's magnum opus, and it very well might be, but I feel this book is at least as representative of his masterful style, and probably more accessible. While TULoB is a masterpiece, TBoLaF is less polished (in a good way), and is considerably lighter (excuse the pun). It's a book I would read again and again, just for the reassurance that beautiful, playful, and insightful writing is alive and well in the late twentieth century.

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Summary: The Best Book I Ever Read
Review: This is the best book I ever read. I first read it in 1986 and have re-read it six times since. Although the joy and wonder is not quite the same on successive reads, I have never puzzled why this book so enchanted me. As another reviewer wrote, the book simply changed my life. Never have I read a book which radiated such intellectual force. Kundera's technique of retelling the same story from different character's perspective is illuminating and enthralling (though it becomes a bit stale in some of his later works.) This marvelous book is not for everyone and serves as a Rohrshack test. After I first read it I immediately sent copies to my four best friends. Two wondered what exactly I saw in the book and the other two agreed it was the most brilliant work of fiction they had ever read. The book took on a life of its own. Twice I gave it to my then girlfriends. In both instances, the girlfriend never read the book but their mothers did! (hoping to gain some insight into the new boyfriend) Mother #1 concluded I was a cynical, morose pervert. Mother #2 loved the book and later became my mother in law. The only sad note is that Kundera never again achieved this level of brilliance, certainly not in the "Unbearable Lightness of Being." My second favorite Kundera novel is "Life is Elsewhere."

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Summary: One of the best books I had to read for school
Review: I read this book in my required history course at college (Brandeis University). It was the only part of the course I liked. What a find. It's a rare circumstance that I enjoyed a required reading so much. Since then, I've read Kundera's other books, but this one is still my favorite. His explanations of little-explained emotions such as angst and kitsch were hysterical and insightful, not to mention weird and wacky.

I'd describe this book as a sort of cross between Sartre and Stanislaw Lem, except much more grounded in reality than either.