Title: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (original title: Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí)
Author: Milan Kundera, translated by Michael Henry Heim
Publication date: 1984 (French translation); 1985 (original Czech)
Genre: Literary fiction
What’s it about?
The novel follows the story of two couples (Tomáš and Tereza, Sabina and Franz), in Czechoslovakia around the time of the Prague Spring of 1968. Their private lives, beliefs, and ideals play out alongside their public roles and identities, illustrating the philosophical concepts explored in the novel.
Kundera challenges Nietzsche’s concept of ‘eternal recurrence’ (the idea that life experiences come round again and again), which he regards as ‘weight’, as the recurrence imposes a responsibility to ensure that appropriate decisions are made. As a contrast, the concept of ‘lightness’ is presented in a variety of forms as experienced by the characters, for example an unwillingness to maintain a serious, committed relationship, on the basis that if life does not recur, it does not matter what we do with it.
The ‘unbearable lightness’ of the title suggests that this lightness might not be the desirable (free) state it at first appears: for example, perhaps responsibility and commitment can bring a relief and contentment that betrayal cannot. The characters, notably Tomáš, go on this journey throughout the novel, and readers are ultimately left to make up their own minds as to what they believe.
Read more information on Goodreads.
Where did I get hold of the book?
I managed to get this one out of the local public library. I’ll take it back when I attend my next writers’ workshop on Thursday.
- Find the book in a library near you.
- Support local independent bookshops by buying the book from Hive (UK).
What did I learn from it?
I learned about Nietzsche’s concept of ‘eternal recurrence’, which was particularly interesting as this book followed on from Sophie’s World in my book challenge. Nietzsche wasn’t covered in great detail in the latter book, so this felt like a progression of my philosophy lesson; and again, the key points of the philosophy were well made in the illustration of the characters’ lives.
I also learned about the Prague Spring and Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, which is a period of history I know very little about. It was especially revealing to see the characters’ lives played out over a number of years after the events as well as during, to see how their motivations changed with their shifting political and personal viewpoints.
How did it make me see the world differently?
To be honest, the greatest effect it had on me was to show me ‘myself’.
I found the book very difficult to get through. I don’t mean difficult to understand; and it’s not that I didn’t care about the characters; but I realised that I prefer, by far, novels that have a plot based around action than around philosophical musings. Even Sophie’s World was more appealing, despite its heavy philosophical content, possibly because it also featured a mystery that needed solving – and I do love a good detective story.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being is clearly a classic of literary fiction, and I’m aware that admitting to my lack of enthusiasm will risk me being regarded as a bit of a philistine. But there are two key points I’d like to add in my defence:
- We are who we are, and our preferences are what they are. No one style of fiction should be regarded as ‘better’ than another simply because it is more ‘intellectual’. I know that I have a good working brain and can engage in philosophical enquiry should the need arise; I’m also not averse to thinking about difficult political questions. I just prefer my fiction to focus on ‘live’ decisions, actions, and consequences rather than abstract theorising – possibly because once I start theorising, my brain goes off on all sorts of tangents and my reading grinds to a halt! (This was, in fact, one of the reasons I needed to give my reading a kick-start in the first place…)
- Although it is important to read outside of your comfort zone on a regular basis, it helps to know what your comfort zone is. Sometimes we want to stretch ourselves, sometimes we want to remind ourselves of familiar thoughts and feelings; and if we are clear on which books will offer us which experiences, we can make better choices of reading material to accompany different times in our life.
What changes will I make to my life as a result of it?
I’ve actually decided to read more – not less – of my beloved sci-fi and fantasy! I won’t abandon literary fiction altogether, but my awareness of the sharp contrast in how the two genres are regarded in society has filled me with a desire to defend my favourite, and demonstrate to fantasy non-fans the range of ideas, beliefs, and theories explored within it.
Fantasy is a much-maligned genre, but I believe it can have as much to offer as any literary text. My aim in pursuing this book challenge is to seriously consider different forms and styles of writing – and now I want to persuade the rest of the world to ‘return the favour’ and seriously consider the merits of fantasy.
You can therefore expect to see some blog posts on this very subject in the hopefully not too distant future!
Over to you…
Has this post inspired you to read the book for yourself?
If you’ve read it, do you agree with what I’ve said? Did you have insights that I’ve not mentioned?
Please share in the comments below!