“When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.” ― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Hello!
I would like to share a review of Milan Kundera’s “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”. This book has been on my bookshelf for a long time and I do re-read it here and there, simply because it is so well written and the story is amazing.
“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” is a love story that took place in Prague in 1968. Tomas is a Czech brain surgeon, an intellectual and has many affairs. It seems he needs to do this because he has no meaningful life and all these affairs give him freedom of some sort. One day however, he meets Tereza and falls deeply in love with her. Things change in Prague at this time when the Soviets are marching in and sent in their tanks. The war goes on and so does Tomas’ lust for women. Tereza and Tomas move in together and he even holds her hand at night, which he never did with other women. However, he has this emptiness inside himself, even though he is with Tereza, but he longs for other women. He has sex with them and leaves because he needs to be by himself after the act.
He commands his affairs to strip – sometimes complete strangers, and they would comply. Then again, I saw “50 Shades of Grey” and even read all the books so nothing surprises me anymore. Tereza of course knows that he has affairs and suffers but stays with him. While reading the book it felt that he is not capable to love anybody really. He states that, “the only relationship that can make both partners happy is one in which sentimentality has no place and neither partner makes any claim on the life and freedom of the other.”
Tereza I loved. She is described as a small town girl who lives this somewhat lonely life. She seems sad but she loves reading because through books she can escape the suffering. When Tomas first met her, she read Anna Karenina which is a great book. While reading, I felt as the narrator would talk straight to me and offer me great insight about life, observations and the characters in the book. I found this novel very profound and unusual. Kundera keeps the chapters short so the book is easy to read and follow. I also do love how the novel portrays lust and love. How can we learn lightness for ourselves?
I have read other books by Milan Kundera that I can all recommend. Check them out here, here and here. Also, below is the trailer to the movie “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” I you would like to see.
Thank you for reading my blog.
