The Unbearable Lightness of Being

I. Introduction:

• Title: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
• Author: Milan Kundera
• Type of Book: Philosophical Novel

II. Characters:

• Main Character:
• Tomas is a brilliant Czech surgeon and an epic womanizer. He is torn between his compassion turned love for his wife Tereza and his polygamous way of life with his mistresses. He is in constant agony as he realizes how much his infidelities torture his wife, born of fortuity, but he can't stop his obsession in discovering the "I", that one-millionth part of a person which makes one unique, of every woman he copulates. Because of this, he initially thought of his wife as a burden but later in the story, he eventually leaves his work and womanizing in the city to live with Tereza in the country where he gets to talk with his son from his former wife and live in peace until he died in a truck accident.
• I can identify with the main character when he gets confused whether to take the burden or not, the weight or the lightness. Even after analyzing everything, he still fails to make a firm decision, affecting the people around him.
 
• Supporting Characters:
• Tereza was a waitress in a hotel restaurant of a provincial town and now, a photographer who became Tomas' wife due to six chance happenings. Even though she is jealous and hurt by Tomas' infidelities, she blames it to herself for being a burden to him. She has been trying to escape from her mother's idea of equality but thought to have failed because it seems to her that she is just a part of Tomas' collection. She is fond her dog, Karenin who died of cancer in the country.
• Sabina is a painter who indulges herself with the continuous acts of betrayal as a revolt to kitsch which excludes everything unacceptable from its scope, a trait her ancestors exuded. She is also Tomas' favorite mistress and closest friend. Her trademark is the bowler hat, a relic from her grandfather. Hers is the life of lightness.
• Franz is a Geneva professor who initially dedicated his life in the pursuit of knowledge. Although married to Marie-Claude, he maintains a relationship with Sabina who he later treats as his ideal goddess. After confessing his affair to his wife, he leaves her and lives with one of his student. But on his death, he ironically died with his wife by his side.

III. Setting:

• Most of the story took place in Prague in the Czech Republic and at Zurich and Geneva, Switzerland. Its time line was during the reign of Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. The presence of gore, wounded victims, protests, marches and Russian tanks enhanced the atmosphere of turbulence in the story along with the characters' already complicated lives.
• The settings of the story were quite unfamiliar to me so having to read this novel was quite a learning experience. I have learned about Stalin and his fearsome reign. I also picked up a few German phrases like "Es Muss Sein" and "Einmal ist kenmal". I have also come to know a bit about the culture of people living at those places.

IV. Plot:

• Tomas had been living in unbearable lightness for quite some time under the unwritten rules of erotic friendship as a carefree bachelor until Tereza came into his life. He had been married before and had a son but he has no intention of seeing them anymore. He first denied love for compassion but later gave in and accepted Tereza who was frustrated of her mundane life and uncouth mother.
• As she lived with him, she had come to know of his polygamous affairs which caused her to have nightmares and attempt suicide. To assuage Tereza's sufferings, he married her and gave her a puppy but was still unable to let go of his mistresses, including Sabina, his long-time lover and friend who helped Tereza get a job as member of the press.
• Due to the Soviet military occupation in Prague and some other reasons, Sabina goes off to Geneva as Tomas and Tereza flees to Zurich to start a new life, in which Tereza did not endure for long and resulted to her return to Prague. Tomas initially felt free when Tereza left but soon missed her so he went back to Prague and to her.
• Because of political reasons, Tomas gave up his job as a surgeon and became a window-washer but still didn't cease his philandering. Tereza, in an attempt to understand Tomas' view of sex and love, engages in an affair with an engineer which she later resents.
• Meanwhile, Sabina has a love affair with Franz, a professor in Geneva. Franz mistakes Sabina for a romantically tragic Czech rebel and fell in love with this idea. But Sabina slowly starts to dislike him because of their contrasting point of views. Franz leaves his wife Marie-Claude and expected Sabina to move with him but did not anticipate her betrayal. Looking for solace, he then lives with a girl with oversized glasses, one of his students.
• Tereza convinces Tomas to live in the country. By agreeing to it, Tomas lets go of his womanizing and his past life altogether to live with Tereza. After living peacefully in the country for quite some time, they met a truck accident which took their lives. Sabina learns of their death and realizes that she has lost her last link to her past. She then ends up living with an old American couple who appreciates her art. Simon, Tomas' son also gets the knowledge of their death and sent Sabina messages.

V. Theme:

• "The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of a burden causes man to be lighter than air...and become only half real, his movements as free as they are significant."  When we try and live for others, pain is inevitable. But this pain is the proof that we are alive and we are real because it's something that can be felt inside that we can be certain of, unlike love and happiness which can be faked or mistaken for something else. If we live only for ourselves, we can go forward without having to worry or having to look back. But when we reach the end of our perpetual flight with all our dreams in our hands, to whom will we look back to and share our life's triumph? With no one to tell it to or to share our pride with, all those victories will be all for vain.
• One of the biggest problems in the story is Tomas' struggle between his love for Tereza and his desire for other women. It was only solved when the couple moved to the country to get away from temptations and problems. It was like an escape to Eden.

VI. Evaluation of the Book:

• I personally felt reluctant on making a book report about this novel because I felt awkward about it. But seeing that it was my fault for not getting a book early, I obliged myself to read it. I can't say I like it but I don't dislike it either. I greatly appreciate the life values that shrouded the pages of the novel. It made me realize my own unbearable lightness too. I also got fascinated with Kundera's version of Yakov's death. The metaphors and the contrasting comparisons were quite unforgettable. The main story is quite interesting too. From Tomas' web of affairs to Tereza's unusual childhood to Sabina's rebellion against her ancestry, it all made reading tolerable. But what bored me were the war and political talks, Franz's musings and the stuff about the collective farm chairman. I was almost tempted to skip those parts but read them anyway. Generally, I think it's a good book but this style of writing doesn't have an affinity with my mind. But I'm thankful for the opportunity of reading it though.