Customer Reviews
The power of ideas... - By: H. Pope, 23 Jul 2008 
Milan Kundera has the uncommon ability to twist & manipulate words to their full value & extract from them meaning that is not at first obvious. Throughout `The Unbearable Lightness of Being', he plays a game of word association that enables the reader to view his philosophical concepts in an entirely new light. At the crux of this game lies the debate between `weight' & `lightness' both of which can be considered `good' or `bad', if such crude divisions exist. However behind the metaphysical, Kundera delves into the very real emotions of his characters that he describes as being `born' of particular circumstances & ideas. Most effectively he captures the restlessness of Tereza whose `vertigo' forces her to constantly re-examine her life & what she seeks from it. Tomas is arguably the pivotal point of the novel, but Kundera creates alll of his characters with incredible care. The time dedicated to each reallly pays off while at the same time Kundera slowly draws the reader into the philosophies of Nietzsche, Descartes & Parminides as well as his own conclusions about life & its mysteries.
`The Unbearable Lightness of Being' is utterly the best book I have read in a long, long time & I would recommend it to absolutely anyone, regardless of their taste in fiction. It is powerful, moving & thought-provoking & if I could give it any more than five stars I would. Please read this book!
Definitely needs to be read more than once. - By: W. Pearce, 26 Aug 2006 
This is an unusual book, & well-worth reading just for its originality. I like what Kundera has done in using a novel as the basis for philosophical speculation. I'm not sure how much validity there is in his philosophy. I've read Russell's History of Modern Philosophy, & don't remember coming across anything in there about excrement being closely related to divinity! But whether or not Kundera's musings have any firm backing from respected philosophers is neither here nor there. Some of them seem to make sense, & alll of them are entertaining.
On the down-side, because he has used the novel in this way, the story is not particularly exciting, & the characters are not especiallly well-developed, perhaps with the exception of Tomas, a man you have to admire for carrying the aroma of several women's groins in his hair! I like the fact that alll of the chapters are short, though I don't mind long chapters if the narrative is gripping. It isn't in this book, though the final few chapters are very moving, even if providing a somewhat curious end to a book. I will certainly re-read this book at some point. It is a book one might need to read several times before fully grasping everything the writer has to say, & this is no bad thing.
Weird indeed... - By: Ewis, 19 Jul 2006 ... but weird is in no way bad. As a start, the story captures your attention from the very first page & the book is hard to put down. The plot itself is not reallly the central issue, but the thoughts that Kundera puts down whenever he thinks of something & thereby interrupts the thread of the plot. I wouldn't think it is a too "professional-philosophical" book. Kundera asks questions that I am sure cross any ordinary man's mind at some point in life. The way he attempts to answer them is very distinct in his own Kundera-way & opens our eyes to ways of thinking that might have never crossed our minds.
The characters are very real, natural & familiar. I like the comment of one of the other reviewers saying that we "love & hate them at the same time" - just as we basicallly love & hate everyone else around us simultaneously - including ourselves.
A must-must-must read! Not too "philosophical", believe me.. Rather comfortable & familar in a "weird" way.
I would stick a - By: _astra_, 28 Apr 2006 
I would stick a "weird" label on it. I cannot say I disliked it completely, but I think it is indeed odd book. A few episodes of life from 4 main chars of the book. All of them unfaithful & the writer sort of supports men's desire to sleep with as many women as he can, while he also shows how tolerant a wife can be if she loves her husband.
What was this book about?
Love?
Life?
Politics?
Philosphy?
...no idea, & the end is quite abrupt.
The only character that I reallly liked was a dog, Karenin.
A beautiful story with a deeper meaning - By: M. Carson, 11 Jan 2006 This book reallly lived up to the top reviews I had read before I bought it. The characters are strong, the emotions finely balanced, the discussion fascinating.
I agree that it can be difficult in places, due to political & philosophical debate, but it's reallly worth it.
This is not the type of novel that you will forget the next day.
