New York Times Bestseller
"Inspired. . . . Kundera's most brilliantly imagined novel. . . . A book that entrances, beguiles and charms us from first page to last." — Cleveland Plain Dealer
Milan Kundera's sixth novel springs from a casual gesture of a woman to her swimming instructor, a gesture that creates a character in the mind of a writer named Kundera. Like Flaubert's Emma or Tolstoy's Anna, Kundera's Agnès becomes an object of fascination, of indefinable longing. From that character springs a novel, a gesture of the imagination that both embodies and articulates Milan Kundera's supreme mastery of the novel and its purpose: to explore thoroughly the great themes of existence.
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"Kundera's gift is not in the stories he tells, but in HOW he tells them. It is almost as much poetry as prose. Better than "The Unbearable Lightness..." in my opinion. If you'd like a psychological literary promenade, this is for you." — Monique (5 out of 5 stars)
"Kundera's gift is not in the stories he tells, but in HOW he tells them. It is almost as much poetry as prose. Better than "The Unbearable Lightness..." in my opinion. If you'd like a psychological literary promenade, this is for you."
" An unconventional story with an unconventional structure, but no one writes like Kundera. The language covers you, hypnotizes you and transports you to a world that's minutely crafted exactly the way Kundera wants. "
" I love this book front to back & inside out. A little bit philosophy, a little bit sexy and a little bit artsy. My favorite book of all time. "
" Kundera is one of the few intellectual writers in the world... "
" Now I have a favourite book.That's all. "
" My memory of why I love this book is horrible. Nevertheless, I recall it with extreme fondness. Someday I will re-read it. "
" My brain expands when I read his work. Philosophical, meta-narrative, blurs the lines between reality and fiction within fiction, post modern, perfect. Clearly, there are no words. "
" It once was and may still be my favorite book of all time. "
" Mesmerising prose. Really loved the way the book is written. "
" about as thinly disguised as a tretis can be and still appear a novel. i like his story telling best and in this case, the gist, once absorbed, is about all there is so it's not my fave. "
" wish i could read this book again. its written in a way i can never ever write, ever. descriptive, painful and beyond imaginative words mince his world together. "
" Great book. Existencialist. I love the ethymological references Kundera makes. "
" Liked parts of it. Kept and interesting story going throughout the whole novel. But just the way he writes occasionally just ruines the whole fun of thinking for yourelf. "
" This was an awesome book for a 14 year old. "
" milan kundera may very well be the best novelist i have ever read. who else can start paragraphs with sentences like: "but what is beauty - mathematically speaking" and pull it off? "
" Way better than The Unbearable Lightness of Being. All about the power of gestures. "
" amazing. kundera does here with life under capitalism what he did with life under communism in the unbearable lightness of being. "
" did really manage to read much of it! "
" This is one of my all-time favorits books. Just brilliant! "
" This is my all-time favorite book. "
" I have read Persian translation of this book. "
Milan Kundera (1929–2023) was the author of several novels and a short-story collection originally written in Czech, and works of nonfiction originally written in French. His is best know for the novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which was adapted for an Oscar-nominated film.
Richmond Hoxie has performed on Broadway in I’m Not Rappaport and off-Broadway in The Dining Room, Vienna: Lusthaus (Revisited), To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, and Landscape with Waitress. On television, he appears frequently in all of the incarnations of Law and Order. His film work includes JFK, Still of the Night, Without a Trace, and For Love or Money.
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