内容简介
WhenTheUnbearableLightnessofBeingwasfirstpublishedinEnglish,itwashailedas"aworkoftheboldestmastery,originality,andrichness"bycriticElizabethHardwickandnamedoneofthebestbooksof1984bytheNewYorkTimesBookReview
作者简介
TheFranco-CzechnovelistMilanKunderawasborninBrnoandhaslivedinFrance,hissecondhomeland,since1975.HeistheauthorofthenovelsTheJoke,FarewellWaltz,LifeIsElsewhere,TheBookofLaughterandForgetting,TheUnbearableLightnessofBeing,andImmortality,andtheshort-storycollectionLaughableLoves—alloriginallywritteninCzech.HismostrecentnovelsSlowness,Identity,andIgnorance,aswellashisnonfictionworksTheArtoftheNovel,TestamentsBetrayed,TheCurtain,andEncounter,wereoriginallywritteninFrench.BiographyForsomeonewhomtheworldregardsasaseriousintellectual,MilanKunderahasabrilliantlytwistedsenseofhumor.Hisnovelsdepictaworldofawkwardorgiesanddisastrouspoolparties,madscientistsandself-pityingpoetswhocontractpneumoniaoutofspite.WhileKundera'sworkstackleprofoundissuesofhumanidentity,theyalsoplayfullyjuggleambiguities,ironiesandparadoxes."Thenovelistteachesthereadertocomprehendtheworldasaquestion,"hesaidina1980interviewwithPhilipRoth."Thereiswisdomandtoleranceinthatattitude.Inaworldbuiltonsacrosanctcertaintiesthenovelisdead."KunderawasborninBrno,Czechoslovkiain1929.LikemanyyoungCzechswhohadcomeofageduringWorldWarIIandtheGermanoccupation,KunderawasattractedtoMarxistphilosophy,whichseemedtopromiseanewfreedomandpeace.Thefirstliteraryworksheproduced(threevolumesofpoetryandaplay,TheOwnersoftheKeys)wereessentiallyCommunistpropaganda,thoughtheydidn'talwaysconformtothetenetsofsocialistrealismapprovedbythestate.Hisresistancetotheofficialrestrictionsonliteraturehelpedleadtohisinvolvementwiththe"PragueSpring,"thebrief-livedreformmovementtoward"socialismwithahumanface."Duringthe'60s,Kunderabeganwritingshortstories,collectedasLaughableLoves,whichhewouldlateridentifyasthebeginningofhismaturework.Inseveralofthem,jokesthatstartoutasinnocentpranksevolveintocatastrophesforbothperpetratorandvictim--theyaredeedsthat,liketheCzechversionofCommunism,haveescapedthecontroloftheircreators.Kundera'sfirstnovel,TheJoke,concernsayoungmanwhoisbroughtuponpoliticalchargesaftersendingateasingpostcardtohisgirlfriend("Optimismistheopiumofthepeople!").TheJokewaspublishedtowideacclaimshortlybeforetheSovietinvasionofCzechoslovakiain1968.Followingtheinvasion,Kunderawasoustedfromhisfilm-studiesteachingjob,hisbookswerepulledfromlibrariesandbookstores,andhewasforbiddentopublishnewwork.Hewentonwriting,however,andhisnovelsLifeIsElsewhereandTheFarewellPartywerepublishedoutsidehisnativecountry.Farcicalandbleak,thenovelsdevelopedwhatwouldbecomearecurringthemeforKundera,inwhichcommitmenttoanabstractmoralprinciplepavesthewayforcorruptionandevil.In1975,KunderafledCzechoslovakiaandsettledinFrance,whereheeventuallybecameacitizen.Hisfirstbookproducedinexile,TheBookofLaughterandForgetting,remainsoneofhismostcelebratedworks,weavingtogetherautobiographicalreflectionswithaseriesofconnectedfictions.JohnUpdike,writingintheNewYorkTimes,calledit"brilliantandoriginal,writtenwithapurityandwitthatinviteusdirectlyin;itisalsostrange,withastrangenessthatlocksusout."Hisnextnovel,TheUnbearableLightnessofBeing,alsodrewhighpraise,andthe1988filmversionofTheUnbearableLightnessofBeingstarringDanielDay-LewisandJulietteBinocheturnedKunderaintosomethingofacelebrity.Despite(orperhapsbecauseof)thepoliticalpressuresthatshapedhisearlylifeandworks,Kunderahaslonginsistedthatthenovelshouldbeaworkofart,notapoliticalorideologicalstatement.Bythe'90s,KunderahadstartedtowritehisnovelsinFrench;heisnowsometimestaggeda"Franco-Czech"author.Hisworksareoftendescribedas"novelsofideas,"butheresiststheterm"philosophicalnovel."AshesaidinaninterviewwithLoisOppenheim,"Therearemetaphysicalproblems,problemsofhumanexistence,thatphilosophyhasneverknownhowtograspinalltheirconcretenessandthatonlythenovelcanseize."
