Mention Based On Books Immortality
| Title | : | Immortality |
| Author | : | Milan Kundera |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 400 pages |
| Published | : | January 3rd 1998 by Faber and Faber (first published January 12th 1990) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. European Literature. Czech Literature. Philosophy. Literature. Novels |
Milan Kundera
Paperback | Pages: 400 pages Rating: 4.14 | 28808 Users | 1599 Reviews
Explanation As Books Immortality
To become engaged within the first few pages of a book is always a good sign. However, at the back of my mind, history kept telling me that many other novels have started out in the stratosphere only to plummet to the bottom of the ocean. Milan Kundera's 'Immortality', starts great, gets better, and ended with a lump in my throat, and a soul that was struck by a chord. No actually, forget the single chord, this was more like an Orchestra going in full swing. Kundera has worked wonders here. Witnessing a playful, sexual, yet sweet physical gesture of a woman by the swimming pool, begins. Kundera weaves a story around this starting gesture. Slowly introducing other characters that are part of her life and compares her life in the 20th century with another one a century earlier. It is an interesting perspective on what immortality is. What do people remember you for? is it what you have achieved?, or maybe just solely based on the perception that others have of you? Are you remembered only by your loved ones, or are you revered or scorned by the entire world? These are questions that will definitely get you thinking, and thinking plays an integral part in Immortality, as the words on each and every page only go so far, as Kundera puts the emphasis on the reader to sit comfy, and give his or hers full attention. (Tried reading on the metro, forget it), this is a book that pays off reading in seclusion as much as possible. In a skillful way, new characters silently crawl out of the woodwork, leaving you hanging, only to be bought up randomly somewhere else in some other context. This does keep you engrossed, it does also become a pain, but a pain worth putting with. Empathy is slowly drawn into the picture, as characters are slowly woven in an intermittently way, that it strangely sexual and often quite perplexing. Kundera's characters acquire psychologies and histories, but they start out and continue to function chiefly as images, provocations: a man staring at a wall, or repeating a phrase; a woman arguing, putting on her glasses, shaking her head; a girl sitting in the middle of a major road amidst rushing traffic. These images are not illustrations of pre-formed thoughts, but they are not simply pieces of novelistic behaviour either. They are meetings between persons and notions, or more precisely, written, re-created, invented records of such meetings. He is clearly a most confident writer, I mean, Goethe & Hemingway in conversation?, Genius!. There are some beautifully written passages of writing, likened to a philosophical voyage into Paradise, and there IS a wonderfully elegant and provocative story lurking under, indicating a second read may help untangle the knots of uncertainty, as Kundera teases the reader with provocations and paradoxes that require some deep pondering. This is a book without conclusion, there really isn't a beginning, middle or end. After the closing pages, I was left moved, awestruck, and slightly mentally exhausted.
List Books In Favor Of Immortality
| Original Title: | Nesmrtelnost |
| ISBN: | 057114456X (ISBN13: 9780571144563) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Agnes, Beatrice (diverse works), Rainer Maria Rilke, Laura Spencer, Goethe, Bettina, Bernard Bertrand, Bertrand Bertrand, Christine |
| Setting: | Paris(France) Rome(Italy) |
| Literary Awards: | Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (1991), Cena Jaroslava Seiferta (1994), Kniha roku (1993) |
Rating Based On Books Immortality
Ratings: 4.14 From 28808 Users | 1599 ReviewsColumn Based On Books Immortality
I have to say I was won over by the book. At first, it annoyed me -- I thought Kundera was trying to be clever. But then as I continued reading I realised the overall structure of the novel, and I realised he wasn't trying to be clever: he was sincerely trying to understand desire and love. Kundera is very intelligent and it shows -- there is a lot one could think about with regards to love and desire -- a lot of interesting ideas in the novel which he tries to understand. He is not really theAnother clunker from Kundera- based on a captivating premise indeed and uniquely realized in parts but overall far too self-conscious, cerebral, gimmicky, and precious.He spends an enormous amount of time describing this elliptical gesture one character makes and its epiphanic qualities for the rest of the narrative. I got it, quickly, I ain't too bright but I do dig the luminous renderings of everyday life quite a bit. O I was on board with that, but the rest of it was as much a hazy mush to me
To become engaged within the first few pages of a book is always a good sign. However, at the back of my mind, history kept telling me that many other novels have started out in the stratosphere only to plummet to the bottom of the ocean. Milan Kundera's 'Immortality', starts great, gets better, and ended with a lump in my throat, and a soul that was struck by a chord. No actually, forget the single chord, this was more like an Orchestra going in full swing. Kundera has worked wonders here.
Phenomenal ........including the best first 2 pages of a book I've ever read!
On one level you could reduce this novel to the sour grapes of a man whos getting old and losing his privileged place in the world. Not that this belittles its aspiration or wisdom because how the self changes with age, how the declining façade impacts the core, is a fascinating and rich subject. Kundera suggests the self doesnt significantly change from within but rather is bullied out of its natural gait by the way people see us, by the images they impose on us. Even we ourselves are
To become engaged within the first few pages of a book is always a good sign. However, at the back of my mind, history kept telling me that many other novels have started out in the stratosphere only to plummet to the bottom of the ocean. Milan Kundera's 'Immortality', starts great, gets better, and ended with a lump in my throat, and a soul that was struck by a chord. No actually, forget the single chord, this was more like an Orchestra going in full swing. Kundera has worked wonders here.
This is a great book and I wish I had discovered it years ago, when it was translated from the Czech in 1991. I liked it much more than Unbearable Lightness of Being. A blurb says the book thoroughly explores the great themes of existence which is quite a task to pull off in 345 pages, but Kundera makes quite a dent in those themes. Where to start? There is a story: a couple has a daughter; the wife dies, and eventually the man marries his dead wifes sister. Thats pretty much the plot. But as
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