The Unbearable Lightness of Being in many ways reminded me of the film Closer. There was the younger girl who goes for the more experienced man, who in turn can't help but want her more womanly counterpart.
The difference is that the lead character Tomas simply came across as a selfish prick with a love/hate relationship toward commitment. It's like he wanted all of the benefits of a relationship with none of the responsibility. I get that my abrupt reaction, may very well be my estrogen talking, but so often in this book I wanted to punch Tomas and shake Tereza before her heart broke in it's entirety.
Tereza I found to be a heartbreaking yet admirable character, as soon as the book delved into Tereza's background is where I felt to the story picked up steam. Her fight for all things intellectual in her old world where no one saw her true value is an odd balance to Tomas's adoration of all things light and aversion to anything that might bring weight upon his life.
The character of Sabina was indeed a spectacular aspect of the story. Despite the fact that she was Tomas's mistress I found her to bring out his main redeeming quality. Even though he was (in my eyes) a womanizer who used his "quest for lightness" seemed an excuse to sleep with whomever he pleased, he was in no way threatened by Sabina's strength and independence (and in the 60s that's saying something). Sabina's fight as a young child to avoid communism-despite her father's belief in it-was a fantastic way to display an utterly unique "fight the power" type character who was one-of-a-kind even as a child (before most of us get the urge to "fight the power" ourselves).
From a writing standpoint, I thought that Lightness was wonderful and I admire Kundera's skill that he could address political and romantic issues- even dealing with the difference between men and woman vs. masculinity and femininity so skillfully. The only thing that truly drove me nuts about this book was the fact that some of the characters made me so angry. However, I think it's possible that if I read this book ten years from now I may have a different reaction in that sense.
B
*The Strand 80
*The Best 100 List
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