Group Read, February 2015: The Unbearable Lightness of Being

By popular acclaim the third place getter in the December poll is our February read. Please post your comments on Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being below.

I'm trying to finish up Billy Bathgate (which is super) and then it's on to Kundera. Looking forward to it!

I read this one last year and remember being annoyed by it. Will have to look up my thoughts to see why exactly.

I'm on the fence about this one because I hated The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. I was really turned off by the way he wrote his female characters.

But my library has it on audio and I might not otherwise read it without this prompting, so we'll see!

Mea culpa! I think that I nominated this one. Had I but read the first page, a lesson on Nietzsche, I would never have done so. Forty pages in and hating it. Mystified at its best-seller status.

I read it in 2009 and did not like it enough to consider rereading it. At least it isn't too long. I think audio is the way to go with speed increased if possible. I looked back at my rating. I gave it 4 stars. It escapes me why as I didnt like it but there must have been something in the writing about relationships.

My comments in 2009.....
Comedy and tragedy, the novel looks at human existence. Geographically it connects Prague, Geneva, Paris, Thailand and the United States. It explores the relationship of husband and wife (Tomas and Tereza) and their beloved dog named Karenin.Tomas is epic womanizer. Tereza has a strong hold over Tomas through her weakness but doesn't realize this until they are old. "when people are fairly young and the musical composition of their lives is still in its opening bars, they can go about writing it together and exchange motifs......" Secondary characters are Sebina and Franz. Sebina is both Tomas and Franz's lover. The bowler hat is a major motif.

I have the same reaction as Kristelh, I loved it, 5 stars, especially the recognizable things Kundera wrote about relationships. However, I read it in 1988. I doubt I would still feel that way, after reading your reactions.

Half way through and I just can't stand the way Kundera keeps telling me what to think. It's like lessons in everything from strength to love to Kafka. Totally annoying.

I've been stalled at about the 50% mark for a month now. It will need to go back to the library soon. Can anyone tell me something that will encourage me to pick it up again and finish rather than giving up? I found the reading to be easy enough, the "story" was just too strange to be excited about it every day. I actually only actively read for about 4 days.