Read from Sunday, January 30th to Thursday, February 3rd.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera. What I love about books is the ability to be anyone at any time, and to experience the world as it was for those people. I have recently been to the modern literary scene in France, the Communist regime in Romania, the northern woods of Norway, and Schultz's beautiful Poland. Again I return to Eastern Europe, this time to Czechoslovakia, during the Prague Spring in 1968, when Moscow invaded to put down the uprising. This book is the story of four people and their intimate relationships, set in the backdrop of an all-knowing society. But it is a philosophical exploration of relationships, communication, self-assessment, a person's place in society, what they are willing to compromise, and why we act the way we do and why we stay with the people we are with.
Primarily, it is the story of Tomas and Tereza. Tomas is a womanizing surgeon in Prague. He meets Tereza, beds her as usual, but she sticks around. She is attached to him, and they more or less fall in love and get married. Tomas is not able to give up his extra-marital affairs, and that racks Tereza, although she is still not able to leave him. After the 1968 uprising, Tomas and Tereza emigrate to Switzerland, but Tereza cannot handle being abroad, so she returns to Prague, and Tomas follows. He loses his job as a surgeon because of an article he wrote, and Tereza is harassed at her job as a bartender by the secret police. They both move to the country and live on a collective, and finally achieve happiness together, before they are tragically killed in a car accident.
It is also the story of Sabina and Franz. Sabina was first one of Tomas' mistresses in Prague and Switzerland, but fell apart from one another when he moved back to be with Tereza. Sabina was a painter, very independent, and hated Soviet realism. She got involved with Franz, a married professor, who was very devoted to her. However, he also needed to 'live in truth,' and he came clean to his wife about the affair. This upset Sabina and she ran off to France and then the U.S. Franz still tried to live up to Sabina's expectations, even though she was not there, by doing noble, liberal things. He joined a group of doctors and intellectuals protesting in Cambodia, where he was killed by thugs.
The overall question of the book is whether it is better to be light or heavy. The conventional wisdom is that lightness is desirable, and heaviness is negative. However it is not always the case. If our lives are only lived once, argues Kundera, then our being, our place in the history of Earth, is incredibly light and insignificant. Our decisions are rendered meaningless. Heaviness is not always a burden. 'Es muss sein,' is a recurring line by Tomas, quoting Beethoven. It means 'It must be.' It is his duty and responsibility to be with Tereza and take care of her. There is also the contradictions of love and sex. Tomas consistently argues that sex is meaningless, it is just a way for him to explore the uniqueness of every woman. He loves Tereza, although she constantly fears she will become just another body for him to boss around.
In the end, after moving to the country, they are united by their love for their dog Karenin. He is so full of joy because his life is cyclical, everyday he can enjoy the same routine as if it were new, while humans crave new things. Karenin is sick with cancer, and it soon becomes clear he will die. I will admit, these last few days for the dog may have jerked free a few tears from my eyes.
This is a complicated philosophical book, and my brief summary cannot do it complete justice. I definitely recommend reading it, and I'm looking forward to renting the movie. Four and a half out of five stars.
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