La fête de l'insignifiance by Milan Kundera

Now in his 80s and in the vesperal stages in his life, Kundera celebrates the insignificance of life with this slim and comic novel.

​Nothing of much importance happens throughout the story. Four friends enjoy each other's company and talk about this and that, their conversations (and Kundera's narratorial voice) sometimes veering into the terrain of philosophy, the content of which is not exceptionally profound. The climax of the story is a birthday party that three of them attend, where nothing much happens. They talk about Stalin and his insignificant story of the 24 partridges, and in the end of the novel, Stalin and his follower Kalinine make a surprise entrance into the world of these four friends, into the Luxembourg gardens where they create a lot of laughter.

"L'insignifiance, mon ami, c'est l'essence de l'existence..." 

Against the heavy spirit of seriousness Kundera's novel celebrates the spirit of lightness and humour through the innocent and liberating truth of insignificance.

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