H2.2.5

La despedida
Milan Kundera
Publicado: 1973 | 244 páginas
Novela Drama Humor

En un balneario algo trasnochado convergen temporalmente ocho personas cuyas circustancias se van entretejiendo paulatinamente hasta formar, con la precisión de una telaraña, una trama en la que todos, directa o indirectamente, acaban viéndose atrapados: el músico célebre y la hermosa enfermera que quiere quedarse embarazada; la celosísima esposa del músico y el joven mecánico enamorado de la enfermera; el ex convicto, víctima de las purgas de su país, que va a despedirse de la muy cerebral Olga; el ginecólogo, con sus fanfarrones proyectos demográficos; el rico excéntrico, una versión de santo moderno. La despedida tiene la ligereza y la magia de un vals, de «un sueño de una noche de verano». Pero, tras esta forma intencionadamente frívola, se oculta la pregunta más grave: ¿merece el hombre vivir en esta tierra ? ¿Acaso no hay que «liberar el planeta de la garras del hombre»? En este sentido, cuesta imaginar algo más glacial y más profundo que la aparente ligereza de Kundera.

Kundera is the master of the undersell. He tells a surface story but has something to say underneath. He clearly has mastered the technique of avoiding censors. He can't bring that message to the surface but it peeks out everywhere.

On the surface there's a simple story. A man has been a new position in another country. He is amazed that he has been given permission to leave the country. He has come to tell his friend, a doctor, who runs an institution where his ward has been living. His ward would love to move their relationship to an intimate level. He's afraid she'll take this news badly. A second plot involves a famous trumpeter who has had an affair with one of the nurses in the same institution and whose wife is convinced he's been cheating on her.

The man reveals that he has been given by his friend the doctor a poison pill which he has no intention of using but he enjoys having because it gives him a sense of freedom knowing he can use it if he wants to avoid going to prison. These two plots intersect. The nurse is having a meeting with the trumpeter in a public place. She's concerned about how he'll react to learning that she's pregnant and is totally opposed to having an abortion. She accidentally leaves her pills on the table. Here's comes the intersection. The man notices and picks up the pills and sees they look very much like his poison pill. To investigate the similarity he puts his pill into the tube containing her pills. At this point she reappears and pulls back what's hers before he can explain and she stalks off.

This sets up the tension. Can he retrieve the poison before she accidentally kills herself. He does not even know who she is or how to find her. If he says and does nothing no one will ever know his involvement and he will be out of the country. If he attempts to find her he may miss his opportunity to leave the country and by alerting people to the issue he may wind up accused of murder. Silence is the easy course but his conscience demands he at least do something. But his repeated attempts are thwarted. He is also distracted by his ward who is determined to fulfill her desires.

How Kundera manages to make this tale into a discussion of oppressive regimes is amazing. He shows how not wanting to acknowledge what is real can impact what actually happens. The man has managed to solve several people's problems by not rescuing the nurse in time. Events are interpreted in ways that people want to see them. Social commentary is made in an understated way.

A short book but worth the time to read. ( )

La troietta vendicativa, lo stupratore seriale in camice bianco, il bamboccio "innamorato" ed idiota, la moglie persecutoria ed (auto)flagellante, il pietoso e pavido musicista, l'edipico grand'uomo espatriante, il quasi utile cornificante americano.
Un cast d'eccezione si produce in bassezze orrori volgarità, raccontate con un'insostenibile leggerezza, vomitevole nella sua compiaciuta rassegnazione.
Questa è vera pornografia. ( )

Nakon Oproštajnog valcera više nema dvojbe: Kundera je majstor suvremene književnosti. Ovaj je roman istodobno primjer i virtuoznosti i dubokog poniranja u ljudsku dušu.(L’Uhite)
Kundera ostaje vjeran svojoj istančanoj, prepredenoj, zločesto domišljatoj darovitosti za roman o erotskim mogućnostima. (New York times Book Review)
Oproštajni valcer je potresan. Crni humor. Okrutna farsa. Zadivljujuće nježni portreti žena. (Le Point)