The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel
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Let me start this review by saying that if you don't like long, meandering philosophy books with very flawed characters, then this is not the book for you. I can see why someone would dislike this book because of those reasons. It's also why it took me this long to read it. But I always enjoy flawed characters, so I liked this one. Kundera uses the characters to show how messed up humans can be, but this book is not necessarily plot-driven or plot-heavy. A lot of things happen, but those are more charged by emotional reactions instead of being fueled by new events. I'm now sure that if anyone actually empathizes with either Tomas or Tereza, I'll question immediately if that person is either a chronic liar/cheater or chronically manipulative. Just because I like reading messy characters doesn't mean I like what they do, I just like seeing the trainwreck of their mistakes unfold. The nonlinear narrative format actually really lets this shine through. Also, can we take a minute to talk about the poor dog, Karenin, that was deliberately-misgendered the whole time?! That was so fucking weird as hell, man, the only character I felt bad for here was Karenin the dog! R.I.P. to Karenin, one of my favorite fictional dogs. You deserved so much better, poor sweetheart! "She longed to destroy brutally the past seven years of her life. It was vertigo. A heady, insuperable longing to fall."
Book Information
Posts
Let me start this review by saying that if you don't like long, meandering philosophy books with very flawed characters, then this is not the book for you. I can see why someone would dislike this book because of those reasons. It's also why it took me this long to read it. But I always enjoy flawed characters, so I liked this one. Kundera uses the characters to show how messed up humans can be, but this book is not necessarily plot-driven or plot-heavy. A lot of things happen, but those are more charged by emotional reactions instead of being fueled by new events. I'm now sure that if anyone actually empathizes with either Tomas or Tereza, I'll question immediately if that person is either a chronic liar/cheater or chronically manipulative. Just because I like reading messy characters doesn't mean I like what they do, I just like seeing the trainwreck of their mistakes unfold. The nonlinear narrative format actually really lets this shine through. Also, can we take a minute to talk about the poor dog, Karenin, that was deliberately-misgendered the whole time?! That was so fucking weird as hell, man, the only character I felt bad for here was Karenin the dog! R.I.P. to Karenin, one of my favorite fictional dogs. You deserved so much better, poor sweetheart! "She longed to destroy brutally the past seven years of her life. It was vertigo. A heady, insuperable longing to fall."