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A review by literaryjunarin
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"If a mother is Sacrifice personified, then a daughter was Guilt, with no possibility of redress."
I honestly don't know how to feel about this book. Tereza, a woman who is the epitome of fidelity is in love with Tomas, a womanizer who believes that love should not tie your sex life to one person only. He believes that having sex with different women is only a form of his curiosity on how each woman differs from others of the same sex. I also don't understand what these women like in Tomas.
On another note, I like how Kundera weaves his ideas. His insightful observations of life, grief, and suffering are a joy to read. I also like how he uses music and mythology as symbols. The inconsistent passage of time and characters' points of view took some time to get used to but towards the end, it was quite fascinating. However, I found it weird how the author himself inserted his own musings about the character's decisions. There was one part where he even explained a scene. Like, don't you trust that I, as a reader, can also interpret that scene?
Since the story has Prague under Soviet Union's occupation as a backdrop, there were a lot of political views which I didn't understand, to be honest, especially those about "Kitsch". I need to be enlightened about that.
I honestly don't know how to feel about this book. Tereza, a woman who is the epitome of fidelity is in love with Tomas, a womanizer who believes that love should not tie your sex life to one person only. He believes that having sex with different women is only a form of his curiosity on how each woman differs from others of the same sex. I also don't understand what these women like in Tomas.
On another note, I like how Kundera weaves his ideas. His insightful observations of life, grief, and suffering are a joy to read. I also like how he uses music and mythology as symbols. The inconsistent passage of time and characters' points of view took some time to get used to but towards the end, it was quite fascinating. However, I found it weird how the author himself inserted his own musings about the character's decisions. There was one part where he even explained a scene. Like, don't you trust that I, as a reader, can also interpret that scene?
Since the story has Prague under Soviet Union's occupation as a backdrop, there were a lot of political views which I didn't understand, to be honest, especially those about "Kitsch". I need to be enlightened about that.