I must warn the newcomer, however - this is NOT a straightforward novel. This is a classic example of "metafiction" - that is, writing about writing. The book begins with Kundera seeing a woman's wave which inspires him to write a story. Immortality is that story, PLUS Kundera's writing that story, PLUS random digressions about Goethe and Rubens. I have to impress upon the reader that THERE IS NO PLOT in this book. That is Kundera's point, and yet the absence of a plot does not encourage the reader to keep going back to it (as it is not headed anywhere).
If you are looking for a book that is out of the ordinary, with very poetic philosophical digressions, than this is the novel for you.
The writing style is, of course, uniquely Kundera. It is high brow, yet matter of fact, and full of sardonic wit. This seems to be a philosophical dissertation, in which he identifies beliefs and philosophies while relating his story.
The story itself deals with Agnes, an elderly woman that is in fact a product of Kundera's (who is also a character) mind. She is born of a gesture that Kundera observed at a health club. She is actually the embodiment of immortality in this respect. In an imagined conversation between Goethe and Hemingway, Kundera hammers out immortality in the physical sense, or the legacy that we leave behind when we pass on. In creating Agnes as a character, she is an immortal legacy of a gesture. Since there are so many faces and so few gestures, one that can make a gesture that is commonplace seem original is desrving of immortality. At least this is the impression that I have at this point in the novel.
I'd suggest this for people already familiar with Kundera. I don't really think that its a good novel if you're just getting familiar with him. Otherwise, I've enjoyed it immensely.
