Book of Laughter and Forgetting is great. I even liked Identity. I find Kundera's perspective to be insightful and novel and I don't really care what he's talking about. The Joke was not only Kundera's first novel, it has recently come to light that he escaped from Czechoslovakia in exchange for informing on fellow artists. In a way, the Joke is an apologia.
I'm not sure Kundera even cares what he's talking about. I'm pretty sure the scenarios he sets up are just conduits for getting his philosophy across in a more interesting way. I've only read Book of Laughter and Unbearable Lightness, but I found both to be amazing. I definitely plan to read most of his catalog.I find Kundera's perspective to be insightful and novel and I don't really care what he's talking about.