慢 (1994)

《慢》（法语原名：La Lenteur）最早出版于1994年，是米兰·昆德拉后期的作品。

该书仅有一百余页，在篇幅上虽比不上《玩笑》、《笑忘录》、《不能承受的生命之轻》等米兰·昆德拉前期的作品，但该作品延续了米兰·昆德拉作品的一贯风格，在该书中作者运用幽默的词句，刻画出一幅幅生动的具有讽刺意味的场景，对人们在生活中所表现出的虚伪、虚荣、势利等阴暗面进行了嘲讽。

Slowness (French: La Lenteur) is a novel by Czech writer Milan Kundera published in 1995 in France, where the author had been living since the 1970s. In his first fictional work written in French, Kundera weaves together a number of plot lines, characters and themes in just over 150 pages. While the book has a narrative, it mainly serves as a way for Kundera to expound his philosophical ideas about modernity, technology, memory and sensuality.

Plot summary

The novel is a meditation on the effects of modernity upon the individual's perception of the world. It is told through a number of plot lines that slowly weave together until they are all united at the end of the book.

Kundera, as narrator, visits a chateau on vacation and tells a story that seems to be a combination of fiction and fact.

A chevalier from eighteenth-century France visits the chateau and experiences a night of carefully orchestrated sensual pleasure with its owner, Madame de T.

Vincent, Kundera's friend, visits the hotel and pursues a romance with a girl met in a bar.

Berck, a "dancer", meets a woman who once scorned him at the same conference and shows his emptiness to her.

Immaculata, the woman who scorned Berck, must deal with her disappointment at learning Berck's apparent perfection is actually a facade.

Each plot shows a different point-of-view into Kundera's concept of the dancer and provides a perspective on modernity, memory and sensuality. By the end of the book, all of these plots have been brought together in a single location and the characters interact, showing how the ideals they represent interact in the world.

Kundera even manages to tie the modern to the past by having Vincent meet the Chevalier as they both depart. By having these characters meet, Kundera again illustrates how the idea of sensuality and pleasure have changed as technology provides humanity with tools that speed us to our destination and demand our attention.

Characters in the novel

For a 150-page novel, there are a large number of characters in this book. Many have heavy symbolic qualities and their interactions appear to be a way in which Kundera is illustrating the philosophy he directly describes in the dialog of the story.

Milan

The narrator who tells the story. His interaction with the story is both as creator and a participant. Strangely, the story overflows into his own life.

Věra

Milan's wife who has accompanied him on the trip to the chateau. She is repeatedly disturbed by Milan's thoughts as he tells the story. She also makes several observations and prophetic statements.

Chevalier

An unknown chevalier from eighteenth century France. The Chevalier is seduced by Madame de T and later becomes a way for the narrator to illustrate an unhurried and sensual lifestyle.

Madame de T

Seduces the Chevalier. Is described as a “Loveable lover of pleasure. Gentle protective liar. Guardian of happiness.” Embodies these qualities as she slowly guides the Chevalier through a night of sensual pleasure that misdirects her husband from her real lover, the Marquis.

Vincent

A friend of Milan who travels to the chateau for a conference. Hates the concept of "the dancer" but transforms into one as the night progresses. Is a modern man who speeds from place to place and gets so caught up in the idea of passion that his pursuit of it prevents him from enjoying it.

Berck

The archetypical "dancer" of the novel. Embodies the problems that modern technology creates, especially for those who seek fame.

Immaculata

A woman from Berck's past who is drawn to the image he portrays on television. She is crushed when she realizes Berck's insincerity. Has a complex and symbolic relationship with the cameraman.

The cameraman

Immaculata's lover. His relationship with her is complex. He observes everything Immaculata does and influences her actions, but in the end is under her control. Despite having a substantial presence in the story, the cameraman is unnamed.

Cechoripsky (Čechořípský)