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Liked It “Commences and Culminates with mysteries of lust and its changing connotations through time.What transpires through the major length of the book is a satirical take on the many faces that lust for a certain something and how in the current times the pleasures of the ‘act of doing’ takes a back...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Some time back I was a huge fan of Kundera.
Pippilota M wrote this review 2 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
He is a very intellectual author, makes a lot of cross text references, has interesting theories.
I still find him interesting to read, but his originality is somehow forced.
This book you could read for a couple of hours on a train...”“Commences and Culminates with mysteries of lust and its changing connotations through time.What transpires through the major length of the book is a satirical take on the many faces that lust for a certain something and how in the current times the pleasures of the ‘act of doing’ takes a back seat and the presumed final ecstatic moment always seems to loom large.
centric eccentricity wrote this review Tuesday, November 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Primarily and explicitly contrasting love making in the by gone eras and in the current e-era the author implicitly portrays the ‘immediate’ lust for power, fame, recognition and popularity, the attainment of which fills the characters of this book with a certain sense of restlessness and desperation.
What I really liked about the book are the humorous theories which the author keeps coming up with every now and then and around which the entire book seems to revolve. For instance ‘The inversely proportional relationship of speed with the memory’ or his take on the epicurean philosophy of pleasure. There is also a certain act to sound mockingly theoretical about pleasures and hedonism. Although this part went above my head, while I sit and write this I feel probably it was meant to go above my head.
Overall a classic book and a wonderful representation of the cyber era we are in. I personally felt a certain me in each of the characters. I keep running even in my dreams. There is nothing more I can say to validate the relevance of the book.”
“A delightful novella depicting the events (seductive encounters) that happen to two men at the same chateau, but seperated by two hundred years. Both gentleman's encounters are tinged with the absurd and the tragic, but the gentleman from the earlier period, the Chevalier, is able to remember his encounter for what it was, while the contemporary man, Vincent, only wants to forget. The novella is an exploration of modern culture, and the relation between speed and forgetting.
Alex D wrote this review Sunday, October 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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“Stunning Physiological and spiritual guide. Opened my eyes to how many moments pass by without a flicker of a thought.”
Grouchy Marxist wrote this review Saturday, September 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The novel is a meditation on the effects of modernity upon the individual's perception of the world. It is told through a number of plot lines that slowly weave together until they are all united at the end of the book.
Wendy B wrote this review Thursday, May 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Kundera, as narrator, visits a chateau on vacation and tells a story that seems to be a combination of fiction and fact.
A Chevalier from eighteenth-century France visits the chateau and experiences a night of carefully orchestrated sensual pleasure with its owner, Madame de T.
Vincent, Kundera's friend, visits the hotel and pursues a romance with a girl met in a bar.
Berck, a "dancer", meets a woman who once scorned him at the same conference and shows his emptiness to her.
Immaculata, the woman who scorned Berck, must deal with her disappointment at learning Berck's apparent perfection is actually a facade.
Each plot shows a different point-of-view into Kundera's concept of the dancer and provides a perspective on modernity, memory and sensuality. By the end of the book, all of these plots have been brought together in a single location and the characters interact, showing how the ideals they represent interact in the world.
Kundera even manages to tie the modern to the past by having Vincent meet the Chevalier as they both depart. By having these characters meet, Kundera again illustrates how the idea of sensuality and pleasure have changed as technology provides humanity with tools that speed us to our destination and demand our attention.
[edit] Characters in "Slowness"
For a 150 page novel, there are a large number of characters in this book. Many of them have heavy symbolic qualities and their interactions appear to be a way in which Kundera is illustrating the philosophy he directly describes in the dialog of the story.
Milan
The narrator who tells the story. His interaction with the story is both as creator and a participant. Strangely, the story overflows into his own life.
Vera
Milan's wife who has accompanied him on the trip to the chateau. She is repeatedly disturbed by Milan's thoughts as he tells the story. She also makes several observations and prophetic statements.
Chevalier
An unknown chevalier from eighteenth century France. The Chevalier is seduced by Madame de T and later becomes a way for the narrator to illustrate an unhurried and sensual lifestyle.
Madame de T
Seduces the Chevalier. Is described as a “Loveable lover of pleasure. Gentle protective liar. Guardian of happines.” Embodies these qualities as she slowly guides the Chevalier through a night of sensual pleasure that misdirects her husband from her real lover, the Marquis.
Vincent
A friend of Milan who travels to the chateau for a conference. Hates the concept of "the dancer" but transformes into one as the night progresses. Is a modern man who speeds from place to place and gets so caught up in the idea of passion that his pursuit of it prevents him from enjoying it.
Berck
The archetypical "dancer" of the novel. Embodies the problems that modern technology creates, especially for those who seek fame.
Immaculata
A woman from Berck's past who is drawn to the image he portrays on television. She is crushed when she realizes Berck's insincerity. Has a complex and symbolic relationship with the camerman.
the cameraman
Immaculata's lover. His relationship with her is complex. He observes everything Immaculata does and influences her actions, but in the end is under her control. Despite having a substantial presence in the story, the cameraman is unnamed.
Cechoripsky
A former scientist who was punished for participating in the Czech revolution of the late 1960's. He has come to believe he is among the "elect" even though he played his role in the event only out of cowardice. His encounter with Berck illustrates an encounter between one of the "elect" and a dancer.
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“As with every book by Kundera, I finished it and was stunned. I never really know where to begin with his books. I love them, that's for sure, and he's one of my favorite writers, but he touches upon so many things in each book that I always feel that I missed something! The beauty of Kundera's writing is the way he portrays the human psyche. I haven't read too many writers that do such a fantastic job of defining a character's thoughts as he does. What I really enjoyed about Slowness is that it was in fact very comical. There were parts that were so silly that I couldn't help but laugh. Especially the part where a certain someone is fixated on a certain woman's body part, a part of her behind, and so fixated that he can't even think of anything else to say except that the moon looks like an asshole! The part of the book that I feel readers are to take away from this book lies in this quote:
April M wrote this review Monday, December 29 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
There is a secret bond between slowness and memory, between speed and forgetting. Consider this utterly commonplace situation: a man is walking down the street. At a certain moment, he tries to recall something, but the recollection escapes him. Automatically, he slows down. Meanwhile, a person who wants to forget a disagreeable incident he has just lived through starts unconsciously to speed up his space, as if he were trying to distance himself from a thing still too close to him in time. In existential mathematics, that experience takes the form of two basic equations: the degree of slowness is directly proportional to the intensity of memory; the degree of speed is directly proportional to the intensity of forgetting.
I like this quote, and the idea, mainly because I think it is true. This is why I adore Kundera; he writes his thoughts down in a way that no one else has. He takes the ideas that we only think about, and brings them to life through his writing.
Do I recommend the book? HELL YES !! Anything written by Kundera is worth reading. :)”
“No character is in this book is safe from Kundera's observant eyes (well except maybe Vera). The human condition is contradiction. We're all guilty of it to one degree or another.
Melanie F wrote this review Monday, February 18 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This is a very good read. It's quite funny in parts. ”
“After finishing this book I find myself thinking back often on the scene near the end where the past an present collide and are disinterested in one another for different reasons. We all have something to learn from the past, young people, awkward situations. The book passed at a clipped pace, leaving me behind in its venereal dust.”
Brittany B wrote this review Friday, January 18 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“he says slowness is a kind of remmedy.
babak a wrote this review Friday, January 11 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
there is a biphasic metaphore in this book.
slowness in the past was the illness.
it is the remmedy today!!!”
“Kundera should always command at least 4 stars, but I'll have to punish him for the auto-pilot flight through the land of existentialism and modern life foibles this novel provides.
rexistopheles wrote this review Sunday, November 25 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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