alanzalot 's review for:

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

3.0

---

An exploration of the essence of being, the conflict and balance of lightness and weight. I had greater expectations of this novel. Kundera's poetic and philosophical ramblings are soothing and stimulating, but he fails to evoke any emotional investment in his characters. All are intriguing but are more like case studies. As is typically the case, looking past the surface to the underlying meaning is where this novel's true value lies. Ultimately though, it's difficult for me to love a book whose female lead is so utterly weak that she allows herself to be continually tormented by her husband's uncontrollable womanizing.