941. Ignorance

Ignorance
Milan Kundera
2000

Around 195 pages

This is the last Kundera novel on the List, which means it's time for a ranking! The novels are fairly equal in quality, so this is just a subjective order of my favorites. Fair warning, it's not sorted by my usual rigid algorithm.

1. The Joke

2. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

3. The Unbearable Lightness of Being
4. Ignorance

I didn't anticipate this novel coming in last, but compared to the others, I guess this is the most disposable. Czech expatriate Irena has lived in France since fleeing the country after the invasion by the Soviets. She decides to return during the Velvet Revolution, and meets fellow ex pat Josef.

I enjoyed Kundera's meditations on nostalgia and the connections he drew to the Odyssey. And I love a good deep dive into etymology as much as the next nerd. And the central concept of ignorance, and the question of just how blissful or involuntary it is, was fascinating to explore. I wasn't as into the story he was telling as much as I have been for his previous works, but this is still a quick and thoughtful read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Kundera had an asteroid named after him.

UP NEXT: Small Remedies by Shashi Deshpande