The Unbearable Lightness of Being
April 11, 20172 min read⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
circa 2019
This novel never fails to question how we live our lives. It explores many characters, with their equally many motivations, dreams and secrets. The theme of sex and its relationship to love is explored by Tomas and Tereza who directly contrast in their perception of it, the former viewing it with lightness and the latter with heaviness.
The novel presents Nietzsche’s concept of eternal recurrence (discussing the heaviness of being) at the beginning and then promptly refutes it discussing how life moves in a straight line. Through multiple characters each living their own reality and facing their own truths, we see how lightness (or the fact that life only occurs once) can be viewed as sweet, or as unbearable.
Ultimately it’s the fact that life is lived once - without practise; showcases its lightness. We spend our entire lives construing meaning and mission when there is no fundamental meaning, and a single gust of wind can throw it away hence hinting at its unbearableness.
Loved the book!
circa 2017
“The novel is not the author’s confession; it is an investigation of human life in the trap the world has become.”
The fortuity in the mere crafting of this novel expels any doubt in the notion of nirvana, or the apex of worldly understanding. Some have achieved this, a few have written about it, yet only Milan Kundera radiates the profundity in its conception.
Created by Apurva Shukla.
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