Immortality
By Milan Kundera
Book 66 of the Perennial Classics series
Man reckons with immortality, and forgets to reckon with death.
Between this book, a film I recently watched, and recent life events, I’m surrounded by death—or at least adjacent to it. Here Kundera, in a sort of literary exercise, delves into the concept of immortality by telling a story within a story (within a story). The “narrator” conjures up an entire novel after seeing a woman at a swimming pool. Suddenly it’s a domestic drama where sisters covet each other’s lives and the men around them are helpless to their whims. Goethe and Hemingway also appear in an imaginary exchange in Heaven, the novel’s heartbeat. It’s definitely a lot to take in, especially with all the references, but Kundera rewards perseverance and ultimately I enjoyed pondering over the themes he tackled here. He’s also a funny writer.
Admittedly, it was a boring Valentine’s date with this book. In case anyone cared I pick my reads via a random number generator—and so here we are! Don’t get me wrong: great book, great writer. But thank God it’s over and I’m off to something easier on the mind.
Tags:
humanity translated hybrid made me think thoughts inside your mind relationships368 pages
Published Oct 19, 1999 by Harper Perennial
Fiction - Literary
Fiction - Classics
Fiction - Women
Fiction - Cultural Heritage
Fiction - Media Tie-In
Fiction - Animals