Is life an incredible chain of circumstances and a game of chance, rendering our actions insignificant in its play? Or does fate guide us along this path for a reason, with the people and situations around us holding deeper meanings? If everything is indeed meaningless, is it worth investing effort into those and that which we love?
These are among the central questions of the novel set in late 1960s Prague, freshly occupied by the Soviet army. The story follows a quartet of main characters (and a dog) who, through their relationships and internal struggles, seek personal fulfillment.
But this is least of all a novel about them, or about wartime and political events. Although at the center of the story, this is primarily a work of philosophical gymnastics - the characters are there as instruments on which the author tests and applies his theories.
The book is challenging to read due to its nonlinear narrative - it jumps from one character's perspective to another, from one time period to another, through different themes, from story to philosophical tangent...
Tomáš is a renowned surgeon and intellectual who suffers due to political pressure, and in love, he is a seducer who has an obsessive need for new love affairs. Although in love with Tereza, he finds it difficult to fully devote himself to her. And Tereza, a girl from a small town who came to Prague for Tomáš and became a documentary war photographer, struggles internally due to his infidelity of which she is all too aware. Her inferiority complex, stemming from childhood, leads her to endure and settle for half-attention. Sabina, Tomáš' "main" mistress, is a rebel and artist to whom freedom is above all else, so she refuses to be tied down even to Franz, a cultured Swiss professor who longs for an intimate relationship with her.
Through these four characters, we explore countless questions, some of the main ones being:
The weight or lightness of existence, which is better? Lightness pulls us towards the heavens, freeing us from constraints; in daily events, we see no meaning and they do not cause us suffering. But this lack of meaning becomes unbearable. Weight pulls us towards the earth and makes us suffer, but at least we feel something. Between these two forces, the one that keeps us upright and light, and gravity that grounds us, humans seek the ideal balance.
Sabina is less troubled by enemy occupation than by KITSCH that it brings with it. Kitsch is an important motif in the book - it refers to banality, brainwashing, performing for cameras, false art, false virtues, and baseless sentimentality. I'm sure most can recognize the extent to which this kitsch has spread and taken hold in today's political farce. Unfortunately, kitsch is the mask the world wears and is an unavoidable part of today and often ourselves. A resolute spirit will do everything to fight against it and lead in directions others dare not, sometimes losing touch with the world.
Can sex be separated from love? Kundera explores the relationship between emotional intimacy and physical passion and how different characters relate differently to the complexity of love relationships. Some are able to separate emotional attachment from sexual expression, while for others, it is unnatural to surrender to pure physical passion.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being is an extraordinary novel for many reasons. Although love is at the heart of the story, Kundera does not aim to evoke sentimental feelings in the reader. The book is almost completely devoid of emotion. Therefore, the characters seem cold and abstract. The author clearly shows us that he is aware that he has created characters, that they do not live, so it is easier for him to implement philosophical themes within the story. He is not afraid to spoil a significant part of the story much earlier than naturally comes to it. He does not hesitate to talk about sensitive topics unpleasant to the ear, even insisting on them too much. There are moments in the book chosen for the purpose of exploring the theme that are not particularly beautiful.
In contrast to the shuffled and fragmented flow of the plot, the writing style is beautiful and simple. The author is a master of dialectics. Often short chapters of one or half a page speed up the rhythm, so the burden of heavy themes is not felt.
“There is no means of testing which decision is better, because there is no basis for comparison. We live everything as it comes, without warning, like an actor going on cold. And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself?
Connected with its postmodern, experimental structure, the book seems somewhat pretentious, and the author self-important, which seems to be a rule in such novels. This small dose of intellectual snobbism I believe will not be a trigger for readers who pick up the book, but it is not excluded. Should you pick it up? Well, certainly not if you expect a light story driven by plot. For those who are ready for a philosophical challenge that will open up hundreds of small and big topics for reflection, then maybe you will enjoy it.
Much of it went over my head on the first reading, and it doesn't help that I'm not familiar enough with the political situation in Czechoslovakia at the time. I believe a reread would bring many insights that I missed at first glance. Overall, I can't say I enjoyed the book, that wasn't its intention. But it did interestingly bring to light a multitude of questions for contemplation. And the answers? They are both there and not there, it is up to each of us to interpret them as best we can and to choose - whether we will admire the miraculous game of fate or accept that life is meaningless and live only for momentary, passing beauty.
p.s. There is a movie based on a book that the author hated once he saw it. If you don't want to bother with the book, you can check it out. I found it underwhelming as well, especially with the performance of main actor. The movie fails to explore the philosophical aspects of the novel and only focuses on the plot, so it's quite simplified. But it's still worth watching.
3.75/5 stars