Isn't love such a mysterious word? It excites people no matter where or in which sentence it appears. But if you were to describe it, everyone would choose a different definition of love for themselves among thousands of definitions. Some talk about a momentary crush, no reason is sought in love, some say the brow or eye of the beloved is struck, some talk about sharing life, friendship, companionship, for some it is platonic, the most beautiful of loves is loving from a distance, for some it is crazy sex nights, skin harmony, the peaks of lust... If you open your ears and listen, everyone's love story is completely different... But love is always there, with its presence as well as its absence, as much as its experiences, and even more so, in questions, in searches... What is this thing we call love? It is like existing... Actually it exists and doesn't exist. It mostly burns us with its questions and problems more than its existence. But let's face it, we can't give up on existing or love, both are seductive. In short, we can say to both of them: You are as impudent as you are beautiful! I am here with another novel full of questions, full of love, where we take refuge in the lightness of existence. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, written by Czech-born French author Milan Kundera in 1982, published in 1984, and adapted for the cinema by the famous American director Philip Kaufman, is our subject in this section. Our guest is Handan Akdemir, an editor friend of mine with whom I worked for many years during my Doğan Kitap period. Handan has edited many writers, but it is impossible to pass without mentioning Haruki Murakami. In addition, Doğan has been the editor of Novus for a long time. Handan and I have talked a lot about life, love, and literature over the years. This was one of those conversations. When we have a contemporary Don Juan, namely Tomas, as the hero of the novel, we may have gotten a little carried away by the gossip. You will manage now. Oh, and we call him Tomas, please don't let there be any problems between us on that subject. Why does Milan Kundera have a special place in our hearts? Of course, everyone has their own Kundera, but I think I will prefer to start from the author’s words. “A novelist is neither a historian nor a prophet; he is the explorer of existence,” our dear Kundera describes the art of the novel. You know, we usually prefer to make a choice between black and white, we want to separate good and bad with a thick line in the middle, and say, “Oh, that’s good,” and sit back, we pass judgment without hesitation and decide right from wrong, Kundera’s novel cannot tolerate these certainties. He is in favor of investigating our nature not like a psychologist, but like an explorer. According to him, the art of the novel is based on the relativity and uncertainty of human nature. History is a backdrop, a person’s psychological structure and past are only factors, when the world is closed to us and has turned into a trap, what is sought after are not confessions but discoveries. After trying to explain some of the reasons why I admire him to you, the listeners of Ben Okurum, let's get to the answer to the question of "who is Milan Kundera?" He was born in 1929 in a city called Brno in the south of what was then Czechoslovakia. His father was a pianist and later became the director of the Janeck Academy of Music. In other words, our Milan grew up in a house full of music. Perhaps the origin of the rhythm in his novels should be sought in this strong relationship with music established at an early age. He started writing his first poems in high school and played trumpet in a jazz band. He went to Prague to study literature at university, then left that and focused on new areas of interest; he studied music, film directing and screenwriting. When he was young, Czechoslovakia was under Nazi occupation, and after the Second World War, the idea and reality of the communist revolution swept through Central Europe like all of them. While he was still in his 20s, he became a member of the Communist Party, just like his friends. But in time, Milan realized that something was wrong, and when he started to voice his ideas, he was expelled from the party. He started working as a lecturer at the Prague Film Academy, while also writing essays, poems, and plays. His first important work, Perde, was published in 1960. It is a book of essays consisting of 7 chapters. He observes the delusions of the society he is in, and thinks about them a lot. There is an environment in the country that does not give a chance to those who do not join the herd, this must be told, it must be put on paper. He also took up the pen, and this time his novel Şaka emerged. #denizyücebaşarır #benokurum #podcast #milankundera #varolmanındayanılmazhafifliği #handanakdemir #canyayınları