The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera
By Peter on Nov 12, 2007 in Fiction Books, Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being somehow makes me think of James Bond. “You only live twice” is the title of a James Bond movie. It is a title I am, for some reason or another, often reminded of. Partly, I guess, because even though living twice may be possible for Mr. Bond, it most certainly is not for most of us. Also, partly, I suspect, because I have sometimes lived my life as if I could live it twice. And I really wish I could relive at least parts of it – to enjoy some and to change others. But that is for THE James – not for me.
Milan Kundera’s starting point is exactly the opposite of Mr. Bond’s. We only live once. And it is this that creates the unbearable lightness of being. We only live once, and the insignificance of our actions and decisions is unbearable. They are light because they are not repeated over and over again, in two or more lives.
Milan Kundera’s writing style is intriguing. He gives only outlines of his characters, and uses them to pose questions and raise issues. He theorizes and analyzes situations, but doesn’t analyze characters, but rather refers, or rather let them refer, their moods, motivations, desires and dreams. The detailed analyses he leaves to us. He is a novel-writing philosopher.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a marvelous novel of love and obsession, lust and oppression. It is the tale of a Prague physician, Tomas, who escapes with his wife Tereza to Zurich after the Russian tanks roll over their country in 1968. Tomas’ life is a never-ending string of infidelities. When his indiscretions cause Tereza to leave him and return to Prague, he follows her, knowing there will be no second chance to escape Communism. An editorial Tomas has published in an anti-Communist newspaper costs him his license to practice medicine, and he soon becomes a window washer. But he is happy – the simple job sets him free. And, if possible, he is even more erotically adventurous. What it is that keeps them together is hard to know.
What is considerably less hard to know, is why this book is such a great read! There are multiple reasons. Not because of the lightness of being, but rather the strangeness of Kundera. His other-worldliness: The strange questions he raises, the ability to make us reflect on so many taken-for-granted aspects of our own lives by establishing new angles. And because there is pain and lightness that I, at least, related to and could associate with, which shed light on many of my own experiences. And because of his strange but interesting theories. Finally, because of the enormous relativity of interpretation of action inherent in his writing – this book launches the relativity theory of relationships, and manages to make it plausible as well. Einstein never achieved the same – for me, that is.
For ordinary lives that aren’t lived on the big screen, like James Bond’s, and can’t be relived, Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being adds beauty, laughter, and smiles that are needed in this one life, as well as reflections and wisdom. Even though your life may continue to be unbearably light after you have read this book, I think you will agree that the investment in time was well worth it!
– Peter
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