Milan Kundera

[Efrim]

I'm in Prague at the moment and I'm thinking a lot about Kundera, who once lived here. I've read The Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. Any Kundera fans on the board?

[Guido Finucci]

I'm a Prague fan - does that help?

[Efrim]

I'm a Prague fan - does that help?

Sure it does. Quite a bit of his writing deals with recent Czech history. Kundera has been living in France for many years now because the Soviets found him subversive and kicked him out of his homeland, so he has an interesting perspective to write from.

[MaxwellsDemon]

Mmmm Prague, being a fan helps.
Alhough they kicked Kundera out after writing 'the joke'. Commies dont take kindly to laughing, apparently.

Although not entirely Discordian (can somehing be entirely somthing?)  Kundera is a definite favorite of mine, if you liked the unbearable lightness... then check 'the last waltz', and 'imortality' (oh look some thinly disguised philosophical meandreings with tits bonus) a fine fine book.

In fact I cant think of one bad writer to emerge from the czeck rebublic (at least in translation), Hrabal is a discordian pope. s'true Ive seen his card.

[Efrim]

Mmmm Prague, being a fan helps.
Alhough they kicked Kundera out after writing 'the joke'. Commies dont take kindly to laughing, apparently.

Although not entirely Discordian (can somehing be entirely somthing?)  Kundera is a definite favorite of mine, if you liked the unbearable lightness... then check 'the last waltz', and 'imortality' (oh look some thinly disguised philosophical meandreings with tits bonus) a fine fine book.

In fact I cant think of one bad writer to emerge from the czeck rebublic (at least in translation), Hrabal is a discordian pope. s'true Ive seen his card.

Kundera's work is thinly disguised philosophy. The plot only provides an excuse to bring up topics. I do like his ramblings though. Espically the one about Stalin's son.

[MaxwellsDemon]

Oedipus right?

Its been a while since Ive read the unbearable...(lenghty title) so I cant rightly remember, but the story definitley involves a fence and a nice illustration of RAW's "what the thinker thinks the proover proves" schpeil.
Hows Prague treating you (thinly disguised envy)... see if you can get somthing by Hrabel (sp?) theres a great book shop in Wenselas square with loads of English books (unless you can speak czek that is) in fact theres hundreds of great book shops in that city.... eat some hot cheese and think of us.

[Efrim]

Oedipus right?

Its been a while since Ive read the unbearable...(lenghty title) so I cant rightly remember, but the story definitley involves a fence and a nice illustration of RAW's "what the thinker thinks the proover proves" schpeil.
Hows Prague treating you (thinly disguised envy)... see if you can get somthing by Hrabel (sp?) theres a great book shop in Wenselas square with loads of English books (unless you can speak czek that is) in fact theres hundreds of great book shops in that city.... eat some hot cheese and think of us.

Prague is glorious. As I said in another forum, all of us must get there in  the next 5 years before they change to the euro and everything becomes expensive. Who's this Hrabel fellow and what is his agenda? I'm very interested.

Stalin's son: when the son of god must answer for shit...we feel the unbearable lightness of being.

[MaxwellsDemon]

Hrabel (second name, probably spelt wrong) is another czeck writer. A tragi-comic genius. Light reading and a bit of a cornerstone in eastern european literature. He experimented with some techniques qhich are firm erisian favorites, unconsious flow, absence of punctuation etc. He was interested in capturing the essence of things by their outward absurdity, humour being the only truly human reaction... or some such.
Look for 'I served the king of England' or 'Too Loud a Solitude" (about a man who works n a book pulping shop but smuggles books for his own consumption, falls in love with a gypsy girl, semi autobiographical and great, a very quick read perfect if you happen to be in prague... grrr cheap beer mutter jazz growl girls sigh charles bridge damn)