The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Wow - breath-taking

Please read this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Almost the best philosophical novel

When I first read this book I thought it would be one of those best novels that conveys deep and meaningful thoughts. But as I kept reading it the story keeps switching back and forth to different characters and I finally was about to put the book down. The erotic events of the book some-what kept me going, but for a while the book can be kind of boring. It can drag the reader very slowly to the end and the reader may not know how many of those events relate to the title or the theme. The book is deep, and it requires some deep thinking to understand and connect the events to the title. I personally think that I didn't spend enough time connecting the events into one huge philosophical theme, and I don't think many readers have that kind of time or would wanted to. Overall it's a decent book but since I'm a highschool student my reading level barely matches with the book's. I would reccomend it to those who are high level readers or simply to book-smart folks. I would like to put a warning sign for dim-witted readers who like to read cliche books, almost like me, so 'beware the unknown'

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

If you like to read stories that make you think about life....

you'll love this.

very good

Enchanting, engaging, provocative... this is a very good novel!

A Brilliant Novel!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began to read this book, but I know now that it's amazing. It's very original, and Milan Kundera is a wonderful writer.

Amazing

One third novel, one third philosophic discussion and one third European history book. Milan Kundera is one of the best authors of our time.

Forget the film. Read the book.

I read this book almost 15 years ago and I still get emotional thinking about it. The characters were heart-breaking. I re-read passages over and over, it felt so intimate. I felt like I was invading the privacy of the characters. This book still affects how I feel about life and love.

Not What I'd Hoped

Because of the high ratings, I'd assumed this book would be a good read. It was not. If you're looking for a good story, this is not the book for you. I'm sure there is great philosophical value to the book, so only choose this book if that's what you're looking for.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Love, lust, revolution, repression, and philosophical digression

Having seen (and disliked) the movie many years ago, I never thought of reading the book. However, I was pleasantly surprised! The rather cryptic title refers to the author's personal philosophy regarding relationships, which he explains in the book. The story begins in Communist Czechoslovaka prior to the famous 1968 Prague Spring introducing the reader to Tomas, the womanizing doctor, and his future doting wife, Tereza. Firmly determined to never remarry after a painful divorce, he ultimately decides to take Tereza under his protection. Of course, Tomas figures that's no reason to give up his many girlfriends. So, they continue, but Tereza is tormented by Tomas' continous infidelity. The author, Milan Kundera, also portrays his affairs from the side of one of his steadiest girlfriends, Sabina. Throughout the book, we trace the personal histories of these three characters from before the Prague Spring to their separate emigration to Switzerland and their return to Czechoslovakia (without Sabina). We also learn about boring Franz, Sabina's desperate lover. Like other Czech authors, Kundera's book starts off playfully, lustfully. But then it takes on an increasingly serious tone as the characters age and finally becomes almost painfully poignant at the end. The consequences of their earlier frivolousness come back to haunt them as the Communist authorities begin relentless persecuting them, ironically pushing them closer together emotionally than ever before. All in all I surprisingly enjoyed the book. Towards the end, however, the book wanders wildly. (Did Kundera have a page quota to fill?) I recommend this book to anyone interested in Czech authors or personal relationships.

stimulating

this book is awesome. this book is a must read and a must have for me. 'the unbearable lightness of being' is one of the worst descriptive book i've read but this book is on a mental plane, of the higher mind. this novel is about thomas and tereza's umbilical love and thomas urgency to be with tereza as thomas continues his ifideities. kendera interjects his theories along the story that makes me look at life through a new perspective. makes me qestion life as it untwines. i strongly recommend this book. to date 'the unbearable lightness of being,' is the best book i have read.

Philosophy Meets Real Life...

This book by Milan Kundera combines the best of philosophy interwoven with an entrancing storyline. In the first chapter, the author introduces the idea of polar opposites that exist in life, most generally, lightness and weight. Light individuals foster the idea that, since our lives transpire only once, events are essentially meaningless, or at the very least, carry no significant ramifications. They do not begrudge the weighty, as even this would be burdensome and over-analytical. Dangerously, though, these individuals border in the verge of insignificance and pettiness for all their actions. Those weighted down though, the cautious, forethinking, and responsible, find a great sense of purpose in every action, no matter life's transience. Yet even these people can find their own existence too pedantic, and need flight. These tensions serve as background for Tomas's and Tereza's marriage. Ironically, it is their very opposition that seems to bond them together, not with intimacy, but by the comfort that they are supplying to each other the needed amount of respective lightness and weight. They are a balanced scale, not indulging in their own stances. Through these characters, Kundera wrestles with the ideas of misunderstanding, irresolution, intentions, corruption of purity, indecision, and human weakness. Besides this omnipresent dichotomy, Kundera also explores the idea of body vs. soul, a sought-after paradise, and the inconsequence of most humans actions (what happens when ideals we value are defiled, when the poles of life near). The lyricism in this novel is undeniable, adamently conveying the realities which define people's lives, and people's lives which define reality. This interchange between the influenced and influencing persists, leaving the reader in a suspended paradox, unable to determine what is right, and what is wrong. A clever narration chronology sheds light on this illogicality. I strongly recommend.

Intelligent yet entertaining

In the Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera not only tells a gripping tale, but also gives readers interesting philosophy and an ambiguity and deepness more characteristic of high level literary masterpieces. This one is definitely worth reading and thinking about.

Not as 'Unbearable' as You Think...

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is about the sex lives of two central characters, the always horny Tomas and the always confused Tereza, in the middle of 1960s Czechoslovakia. While the Communists are making a mess of the world around them, Tomas is making a mess of Tereza by sleeping around and Tereza is making a mess of herself by questioning life. Through moves as close as Switzerland and as far as Cambodia, they always find themselves back with eachother. Could it be meant to be? Milan Kundera, the author, has an interesting way of presenting his theories of the world to the reader. He does it by intertwining them through the lives of Tereza and Tomas. Kundera gives his interpretations on God, Comunism, love, and war with the help of Tereza's imagination and frequent dreams. Also, the plot twists and turns through the whole story. It frequently jumps through time and changes who it focuses on (kind of like a 'Quantum Leap' thing) and explains different points of views on many of the same topics. It leaves you wondering how the characters will be involved with eachother in the end, and that's the exciting part of the book. You'll have to read it to find out how it ends.

Great fiction with philosophical meaning

I rarely read romance novels with such good philosophical ideologies as backbone. After reading it, I reflect on relationships and my expectations of if between what being bearable and unbearable. I also feel fortunate that in the society I live in today, politics and partism do not get into my ways of living; thus as a result, I am not imposed upon by the society the burden of the unbearable lightness of being. It is a great read but it's not easy to digest. It introduces many interesting philosophical ideas. They guide readers to put the meaning of their lives and living in the context of the philosophical ideas involved. As a result, the journey becomes both a reading experience as well as an introspective exercise. I'd like to read it a 2nd time to comprehend in further extent the philosophical thoughts introduced in this book.

Breath Deep Poetry

It was one of those books that you wanted to read over and over again so that you could quote it to everybody you talked to.

do you know what it means to feel?

Some people say that they experience a profound moment of epiphany or euphoria through a sunrise, a symphony, a near-death experience. Try this novel. If you are one who thinks you may be incomplete, or have made mistakes and misdirected your love, you will feel the passions of these characters.

very interesting

i think kundera is exceptional. a must read! however,'identity' is my personal favourite.

writing as art

My friend lent me this book, telling me it changed the way she saw so much. And it did the exact same for me. Kundera has this amazing way of incorporating his amazing philosophy into an intense story of loves. Kundera truly confirms that writing is a form of art.

... on the other hand

Not all book reviewers necessarily agree or come away from a book with positive regard. Although seeming to get off to a good beginning for those of us who like to read on the landscape of thought and motivation and rational action 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' deteriorates into mazes of mental illness, misogynism, trivializations of the concepts of self worth, parental responsibility, respect, love, fidelity, and man's ultimate inhumanity to his fellow man. I could not help but conclude that Mr. Kundera was essentially unable to grasp or represent any but the most self-indulgent, self-debasing, and neurotic aspects of man and woman in the world of which he writes. Even in these categories, for those who enjoy the self-indulgent, self-debasing, and neurotic I doubt that Mr. Kundera could be called an author of any exceptional merit.

The Best Book I Have Ever Read

Upon being dumped by the man I was in love with, I picked up "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and it made me do a 180-degree turn. When a book can make me feel better, I know it is very special. This book made me THINK about all the conventions of society that us humans pursue but take for granted: love, work, sex, democracy, safety, friendship, etc. etc. I underlined so many sentences in this book - it will be a point of reference for many conversations to come. I have nothing but good things to say about this book. Everyone should read it.