Discussion of Kundera’s The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

Milan Kundera is probably the most prominent Czech writer alive today, at least outside of the Czech Republic itself.  He wrote The Book of Laughter and Forgetting in Paris, having been forced into exile in the early 1970s.  I would like our discussion to treat the novel as an historical document, a statement about life under socialism, rather than a work of art on its own terms.  In this respect, Kundera’s document in the Stokes volume (“The Tragedy of Central Europe”) may help you understand the themes of the novel.  Among the questions you should keep in mind as you read are:

• What is Kundera’s vision of politics?  Is the book a political statement?
• What does the title mean?  What is the role of laughter and forgetting in the book? In life?
• Reflect on the role of the “West” in the novel.  How are western and eastern Europeans potrayed?
• Why does sex play such a significant role in the story? 
• Does Kundera convince you that litost is a specifically Eastern (or Central) European phenomenon?
• These questions are not supposed to limit our discussion, so do be ready to bring up anything else that strikes you.