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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
A title can ruin the work. This law applies to everything that can be called a product of creativity, be it writing, painting, even an advertisement. That is because the face is to a person what the title is to its creation. The title stirs perception of a book created in one's mind. The 'lightness of being' might have perhaps had no form nor meaning. Being is regarded more often as all things difficult and difficulties materialize as heaviness. The title that tears through established patterns of thinking ought to attract attention. It is a magnificent occurrence that one, just one short statement can alter the whole image. This might be the key to grasping just what there is about language that is so fascinating, above all the nuances of its forming. There is a sentence in Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" that points the whole experience: "The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become." Milan Kundera uses magic to pull apart his story and rewrite it threading into philosophy and sociology. The composition of his work is truly exemplary, for it makes the experience all the more interesting and one of a kind. This way of arranging parts of the action, the language he uses and the ways in which he appears in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" as a narrator make for a spectacular read. One that opens eyes and enables one to take a look at human relationships from a different perspective. Some of us might be destined to the obligation of lifting the unbearable lightness of being, some - the unbearable heaviness. The ultimate truth is, however, that the lightness Milan Kundera gifted us can weight as much as a mirror. To some this mirror could be so small only a part of their face would be visible, to others - reflect every detail of their silhouette. While this mirror reflects rather dark, toxic even, faces of humanity, this cannot outshine the brilliancy with which the book itself had been written (or to say the quartz sand had been melted and became a mirror).
reflective
sad
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
"Nor had she ever asked herself the questions that plague human couples: Does he love me? Does he love anyone more than me? Does he love me more than I love him?
Perhaps all the questions we ask of love, to measure, test, probe, and save it, have the additional effect of cutting it short. Perhaps the reason we are unable to love is that we yearn to be loved, that is, we demand something (love) from our partner instead of delivering ourselves up to him demand-free and asking for nothing but his company."
Perhaps all the questions we ask of love, to measure, test, probe, and save it, have the additional effect of cutting it short. Perhaps the reason we are unable to love is that we yearn to be loved, that is, we demand something (love) from our partner instead of delivering ourselves up to him demand-free and asking for nothing but his company."
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm going middle of the road 3 because there were aspects of this book that I really liked and aspects that I really despised.
First of all the MMC and FMC were literally MENTALLY ILL. Like I can't dog on them too much because they actually were mentally just not there. At all. Like WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGGGGG????????????????!!!?!?!?!?!?!!??!???!?!??!??!??! I HATED Tomas. Please see a therapist. Teresa too. Girl, leave him. For the sake of the good lord, LEAVE THAT WEIRDO!
I was pissed off basically the whole time I was reading. It was unreal.
The nonlinear storytelling of it was very confusing, but I feel like that was the point. The last few sections were way better than the first couple.
I don't really think I understood the tie ins to communism and the soviet union and the Russian occupation. Like I understood it separately from the love plotline, but I felt like I was supposed to be making connections between the ways that the characters were acting and their historical context/surroundings, but I just was not doing that. At all.
Also I disagree with a lot of the conclusions that the author was drawing about human nature and empathy and compassion and such. But also I didn't grow up in a country occupied by a totalitarian and authoritarian Communist regime that destroyed my heritage and my country and eradicated free speech. So, there's that.
I don't know if I recommend this book. Maybe if you really want to read a book that is kind of gross, this one would be good.
First of all the MMC and FMC were literally MENTALLY ILL. Like I can't dog on them too much because they actually were mentally just not there. At all. Like WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGGGGG????????????????!!!?!?!?!?!?!!??!???!?!??!??!??! I HATED Tomas. Please see a therapist. Teresa too. Girl, leave him. For the sake of the good lord, LEAVE THAT WEIRDO!
I was pissed off basically the whole time I was reading. It was unreal.
The nonlinear storytelling of it was very confusing, but I feel like that was the point. The last few sections were way better than the first couple.
I don't really think I understood the tie ins to communism and the soviet union and the Russian occupation. Like I understood it separately from the love plotline, but I felt like I was supposed to be making connections between the ways that the characters were acting and their historical context/surroundings, but I just was not doing that. At all.
Also I disagree with a lot of the conclusions that the author was drawing about human nature and empathy and compassion and such. But also I didn't grow up in a country occupied by a totalitarian and authoritarian Communist regime that destroyed my heritage and my country and eradicated free speech. So, there's that.
I don't know if I recommend this book. Maybe if you really want to read a book that is kind of gross, this one would be good.
Word salad alert! Bunch of neurotic people saying neurotic things. I mean, I get why the book is so popular, the style of the prose is very soviet-essay coded and very memorable. The ideas are well-formed, and the characters are well written, and maybe I would have liked this book at some other time, but I simply couldn't read this without forcing myself to.
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes