Unquestionably one of the best books I have ever read

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	• The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel Milan Kundera Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 1999 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 242 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Lives, Examined.

I almost gave up on this book within the first ten pages or so, such was my contempt for the philosphy and general behavior of Tomas, one of the principal characters in this story and the first one through whose eyes we see the world inhabited by all of Kundera's characters. But I carried on, buoyed by the recommendations of my girlfriend and a young man whose opinion I value. Both recommended this tale of intersection, intertwined relationships in Cold War Europe.

Tomas, a surgeon, is a hedonist who believes "einmal ist keinmal," if we only have one life to live, we might as well not lived at all. Compassion is heavy and undesirable. And so he goes about the collection of sexual experiences with women, "erotic friendships," even as he lives another compartmentalized life with his Wife Tereza. He eventually concludes that sex and love are two opposing things, at least for him; the idea that Tereza might share her body with other men upsets him.

Tereza, a photographer, is aware of Tomas' infidelities and suffers through them by variously ignoring them, engaging in short-lived experimentation herself, and ultimately by sharing her love with an important family pet. The author shares quite a bit of the history of Tereza with her difficult yet much loved mother. That narrative was one of my favorite parts of the book. For a time Tereza leaves Tomas. The latter follows her, invoking Beethoven's "es muss sein!" to describe his love for Tereza. This statement is a motif throughout the book, and changes in meaning. In fact, the author's frequent, wonderful digressions are one of the best parts of the book as he explores changeability in apparent sameness, beauty in weakness,

Sabina, an artist, is one of Tomas' mistresses. Franz, in turn, is devoted to Sabina yet married to another person. One part of the book is devoted to "Words Misunderstood," and follows Sabina and Franz as they experience the same events and places in very different ways. Just because two people are in the same place at the same time doesn't mean they perceive things in even a remotely similar fashion. Franz is an academic and idealist for whom The Grand March, the Platonic ideal of "protest" is an elusive goal.

In later parts of the book Tomas derives much of his strength during his personal and political challenges not from the "es muss sein" for love of his wife, but of his profession. Even his meeting with Tereza, he considers, was born of a series of accidents while his profession was something he chose and pursued through an act of will.

In the end, though, there is a wonderful redemption story as Tereza is frank with Tomas about what he's done to her, and Tomas realizes the pain he has caused and dedicates himself finally to his bride. In bringing the moment of Tomas' final dedication to love, the author makes use of strands of the story that have been woven throught the entire course of the narrative. And in the end, I believe both achieved a "lightness of being."

And I learned a few additional lessons along the way. I would have made a terrible mistake in giving up on this book so early. This collection of stories, the history as seen through the eyes of the four main characters, is told in a wonderful, human voice. When Tereza blushes in front of Tomas, it is explained that she "felt her soul rushing up to the surface [of her body] through her blood vessels and pores to show itself to him." There is much pain in the pages, much physical pleasure, and some joy. The joys that are discovered through difficulty are so much sweeter for that which has come before.

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Great novel

Milan Kundera takes you on a journey of introspection which makes you revisit your view of life

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Deep thought but some good insights

Hard to follow this book at first, but if you stay with it you'll enjoy.

Unquestionably one of the best books I have ever read

The thing I love about this book is that Kundera presents so many ideas, draws from so many other great works and incorporates them seamlessly into a beautiful story. Like, Newton, he stands on the shoulders of giants. As a philosophy major, I particularly enjoyed all the philosophical ideas he manage to incorporate. I took 14 classes in all areas of Philosophy, and Kundera uses ideas from about 9 of those classes.
If you're not well read in philosophy, don't let this turn you off. Kundera is not overly esoteric, and I doubt many people who read this book are familiar with all his ideas (a lot of the literary theory eluded me). Even so, Kundera's novel has merit in its accurate and astute treatment of love and its lyrical prose.

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Fantastic Book

This book is different from what most have read and that alone makes it worth reading. It's heartfelt, sad and happy and it's hard to put down. Kundera thinks in such different ways that it makes the reader ponder on his ideas. The story is beautiful and the book itself is not a complicated read (even if the reader is young the references to the past and politics are easily understood in context). I would recommend this book to everyone.

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