Milan Kundera - Laughable Loves

Laughable Loves, Milan Kundera's second novel, is a collection of stories concerned with the absurdity and comic potential inherent in physical and romantic love. From the first, Kundera has eschewed description, plot and pace, to better explore the themes close to his heart. These short pieces are effective in their adhesion to Kundera's goals, though the most loosely constructed story, Symposium, is perhaps too breezy and as a consequence is less effective.

The stories are not explicitly connected by character or setting (with the exception of the second-to-last story, which borrows a previous story's character in a fairly lose, ephemeral manner); instead they are connected as a series of what I shall call 'illuminations' on his primary theme, which is masculine and feminine interaction. These illuminations are simply that - a light shone upon an explicitly realised aspect of sexuality, which is then dissected and commented upon by either the characters, the narrator, or sometimes both. At times, the trappings of the stories - the colour of a shirt, the decor of an apartment, the history of a protagonist - are so gauzy and light as to be non-existent, and even at their strongest, remain far in the background. The result, then, is that Kundera, by removing these elements, is able to focus solely on the psychological, emotional and sexual aspects of his characters.

Consider the third story, The Hitchhiking Game, which is both the best example of Kundera's focused gaze and the strongest story in the collection. In the story, a young couple, the woman beautiful but somewhat insecure in her body and the man confident but brash, and perhaps a little too jealous for his own good, are on a two-week holiday. The story opens on the first day of their holiday, as they are driving to their destination. The young woman - unnamed throughout, and the same applies for the young man - asks her partner to stop so she can go to the toilet. He complies, of course, but the event triggers a series of doubts within her. She 'knew that her modesty was ridiculous and old-fashioned', but that doesn't prevent her from worrying about the embarrassing nature of her body and its sounds and smells, and the desires which, at times, occupy her mind. This extended worry over her sense of self as an erotic being, combines with the awkward conversation between the couple before stopping to create a firm sense of the woman and her relationship. We understand that they are both very young, and often fake confidence and comfort with one another.

A chance comment from the young man, who pretends his girlfriend as she approaches the car is a stranger, prompts a strange and daring game. The girl goes along with the game, saying brazen things and suggesting without ambiguity that the 'strangers' find a hotel room where they can make love. At first, both participants enjoy the game. Kundera shifts from man to woman in small chapters, showing both sides of the game and how it affects them. The woman loves the freedom of being the sort of woman she assumes everyone but her is capable of being; she loves being loose and fallen without actually having to fall. The man is relieved that his girlfriend actually has it in her to be erotic - he loves her, but worries over her prudish nature. That she can be this way is a marvel, until suddenly it isn't.

At first, the young man shifts. If his girlfriend is capable of pretending to be so brazen, then perhaps she really is like this? Perhaps this is her true self, the identity she presents to strangers. He tests her by treating her more poorly, and she plays along, which solidifies his fears. His girlfriend really is a tramp. The girl finds herself disliking the game. She wants the partner she knows, the sensitive caring man she loves. But he won't stop the game, and neither will she. A few attempts in this direction are rebuffed by the man's anger, and the game goes on to its horrible conclusion.

This lengthy description shows the complexity of Kundera's story. He carefully avoids choosing sides, instead deeply exploring the thoughts and feelings of his characters. The question turns to the problem of identity, and the face we show to the person who should be the closest. Both participants are unwilling, but able, to shift their perspective on their partner. They don't want to do it, but the cumulative force of events ensure the inevitability of their changing perspective.

After a strong beginning, the middle stories of the collection sag. Symposium and Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead are weak reflections of the other stories, repeating themes and offering little new insight. Symposium is somewhat sad, though perhaps not in the manner intended by the author. A woman attempts suicide after an unsuccessful seduction, and instead of concerning themselves too much with her, the characters - medical professionals, mind - wax eloquent on the philosophic and sexual implications of her decision and personality. This comes across as crass, though Kundera writes in such a way that I suspect he was attempting to be funny. Finally, the last two stories return to the strength of the first three. Again, the problems of identity and sexuality remain Kundera's primary theme.

Though written in the late 1960s, the shadow of communism falls lightly over Kundera's Czechoslovakia. Mention is made of restrictions and concerns when they affect the story, but this is primarily an inwardly-focussing collection. The last story is the only one to explicitly utilise the Communist occupation of Czechoslovakia, with the title character, Eduard, placed on trial by his comrades for worshipping God. This, however, is again mostly a backdrop for the erotic adventures of the protagonist as he interacts with the sex-mad Communist and the close-legged Christian.

The weakness of the middle-section of the collection makes this a deeply uneven work. Kundera is generally quite good at linking separate characters and events, and even time - See Immortality for a strong example of the latter - but here the links are too weak, even for him. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, a later work, is a similarly loosely connected series of stories, but it is much more effective and has a greater overall cohesion.

Author	Milan Kundera
Title	Laughable Loves (Original Title: Směšné lásky)
Nationality	Czech
Publisher	Harper Collins
Published	1974 (English) 1969 (Czech)
Pages	287
Availability: ---Amazon (US) ---Amazon (UK) ---Book Depository ---Fishpond

See Also

Also by Milan Kundera:
---Farewell Waltz
---Identity
---Immortality