Identity
Ratings13
Average rating3.3
15
Ratings13
Average rating3.3
Sometimes - perhaps only for an instant - we fail to recognise a companion; for a moment their identity ceases to exist, and thus we come to doubt our own. The effect is at its most acute in a couple where our existence is given meaning by our perception of a lover, and theirs of us. With his astonishing skill at building on and out from the significant moment, Kundera has placed such a situation and the resulting wave of panic at the core of the novel. In a narrative as intense as it is brief, a moment of confusion sets in motion a complex chain of events which forces the reader to cross and recross the divide between fantasy and reality. Profound, sad and disquieting but above all a love story, Identity provides further proof of Kundera's astonishing gifts as a novelist.
Reviews with the most likes.
I really do not enjoy Kundera's writing style. I couldn't finish reading it. Boredom to the max.
3.5
i finished this book a couple days ago, and have been postponing a review until I can properly compose my thoughts. I've still not been able to do so but i'm going to attempt to review it anyway.
Identity is an exploration of individuality and identity within a relationship. How much of your identity is yours and how much of it is defined by your partner's (or even strangers') perception of you? The transience of beauty, attraction, desire is a recurring theme in kundera's work and this novel also explores that.
spoilers ahead
this idea of a fleeting reality is perpetuated by the “and then she woke up and it was all a dream” ending. While an ending like this might get you a B- in english class, it kind of works in this novel, because it was definitely premeditated and thought out. Kundera even inserts himself into the story at the end, having us question the entire novel. Who's dreaming? Was it always a dream or did it start during? If so, when did it start being a dream?
This whole notion intrigued me but also frustrated me to a certain extent. It was missing something. It needed a little more depth perhaps.
Definitely not Kundera's best work but it sure holds its own as a literary work.
De lo mas flojito que he leído de Milán Kundera. Francamente decepcionante.
It started out okay, but once I got to the part about shared saliva among all humans and masturbating fetuses, I was quite disturbed. Maybe some people like that sort of thing but this seemed far too strange for me to come close to enjoying.
