Milan Kundera: Slowness

Reflecting on Milan Kundera's novel, Slowness, translated to English by Linda Asher. I am grateful to the individuals in my reading group, who participated in a discussion of this book. For more information, and to check out the schedule of my group, see: dgozli.com/reading-group-sche...
Mentioned in the video:
​⁠‪@mikegseclecticreads‬
Mike’s review of ‘Slowness’ • Slowness -- Milan Kund...
​⁠‪@grantlovesbooks‬
Grant's video on 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' • The Unbearable Lightne...
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[@parastooaghr]

Thanks again Davood, your explanation on how slowness actually helps us understand the temporariness of some of our emotions was really insightful especially when thinking of the part in the very beginning where Kundera talks on how the driver is experiencing a feeling of ecstasy with no sense of past or future

[@DavoodGozli]

Thanks, Parastoo. Given that our experiences have aspects, we can forget some aspects of an experience while focusing on others. The faster we move, it seems like we tend to become forgetful of more aspects (including the fact that something is transient). That might be why speed gives a “thin” quality to our experience, while there is often a sense of “fullness” in being slow.

[@chrisschuck8812]

Finishing the last 20 pages and then finding your new video with these additional thoughts here is a great bonus, like suddenly getting handed an extra 15 minutes of reading group. Having now read the whole book and in more of a position to see the whole, the themes you touched on above come into even clearer focus. (Perhaps one value of finishing a book is not so much the ending in terms of its own contribution, but *ending* (verb) in that "slowing down" sense - finally stopping to digest, reflect, let the different ingredients settle and rearrange). Something I initially had trouble getting my head around is that the significance of "slowness" and "speed" for Kundera (as you point out) is much more indirect and counterintuitive than the bald title would suggest. Even if he opens and closes the book with references to fast motorcycles, it's much more than that. It's almost as if slowness has more to do with our desperate efforts to overdetermine ourselves and our lives, which at times lends itself to rushing (trying to escape or redefine painful feelings), other times getting stuck as we rigidly cling to something we can't give up. Sometimes it felt like he could have substituted the word "presence": being willing to just inhabit our lives instead of trying to force the narrative we like. Anyway, I thought you conveyed this really well.

[@DavoodGozli]

Thanks, Chris! I had the same feeling about the title. The function of the "title" in a work of art (e.g., a painting or a photograph) is typically different from the function of book titles. A book tends to _unpack_ its title, whereas the title of a work of art helps us extract meaning from the work itself (just as the work helps us extract meaning from the title). I am referring to that familiar scenario in an art gallery, as we go back and forth between a painting and the title/note next to it. Your comment helped me realize this might be how Kundera is using "Slowness" as his title.

[@nidza6514]

@@DavoodGozli What is the function of a song title according to you?

[@DavoodGozli]

There are probably an infinite number of functions that a song title can serve -- I don't know.

[@nidza6514]

thanks for the video

[@DavoodGozli]

You're welcome!

[@mikegseclecticreads]

Nine months later, I finally posted my review, though I originally recorded it much closer to our actual discussion 😅 I appreciated the chance to come back and review my thoughts about the book, and I watched your review again today too.

[@DavoodGozli]

Thank you, Mike! Loved your review! And I could finally fulfill the promise of providing a link to your video in the descriptions.

[@mikegseclecticreads]

@@DavoodGozli Nice, thanks a bunch :)