We feel like we should be able to say "Communism = bad stuff" and be done with it—insert mic drop here—but it's way more complex than that. The political experiences of Czechoslovakia up until 1989 are better characterized by a famous saying: "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
The power of the Communist regime lay in its ability to control everything—including the past. The regime was able to erase whole people and incidents in order to bolster its grip on the country. It cornered the market on fear.
In The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, Kundera explores a heavy issue for most Czechs and Slovaks back in his day: should they resist, or should they simply accept their fates and wait for a better day? Kundera himself was pretty torn on this issue, but he erred on the side of safety. No point in fighting the Man, he thought.
In the end, you might feel that Kundera's view on this subject is wrong. Of course, there is a point to resistance, right? But you can feel the pointlessness of Kundera's battle with the Communist regime in this novel, and you can clearly see how its phenomenal power affects even the innermost lives of his characters.
Questions About Politics
- What role does the political situation in Czechoslovakia play in each story of this work?
- What is Kundera's view of Communism in this novel? How does that jibe with his actual involvement in the political life of his country?
- How do Kundera's characters cope with the political realities of their country?
- Why is Kundera so delighted to cast a horoscope for R.'s boss (other than the fat paycheck he's getting)?
Chew on This
Memory is the only weapon in the struggle against power.
Activism under a totalitarian regime is futile and irresponsible, especially if others rely on you.