Kundera gained fame writing against the Soviet occupation of Prague, but unlike Tom Clancy, the end of the Cold War has not left Kundera short on targets, as he criticizes the emptiness of modern life. In the collective struggle against boredom, people engage in dull occupations and fake freinships. About all the modern world is suited for, Kundera seems to say, is to provide fodder for conversation. However contemptible the world may be, they still need it to be able to talk together. Oh, no, no love can survive muteness.
Identity is the product of a remarkably observant social commentator and gifted writer.
Like Kundera's earlier work, it is intellectually stimulating and can reinterpret everyday events with brilliance. But for all his wit, this incarnation of Kundera's world suffers from a lack of narrative, something which even the most philosophical of novels require.