The Unbearable Lightne...

by
Milan Kundera

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being

by Milan Kundera

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 123,799 ratings · 5,286 reviews

"Po čtyřech letech strávených v Ženevě ubytovala se Sabina v Paříži a nemohla se vzpamatovat z melancholie. Kdyby se jí někdo zeptal,co se jí stalo, nenašla by pro to slov. Životní drama se dá vždycky vyjádřit metaforou tíže. Říkáme, že na člověka dopadlo nějaké břemeno. Člověk to břemeno unese nebo neunese, padá pod ním,zápasí s ním, prohrává nebo vítězí. Ale co se vlastn...more

Hardcover, 314 pages

Published 1984 by Harper & Row (first published January 1st 1983)

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Sep 30, 2012 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Erotic Bohemians

Recommended to Steve aka Sckenda by: Phillip Kaufman

Shelves: favorites-contemporary, 20th-century, international, czech, communism, women, art, love, medicine, compassion, soviet-union, meaning, movie, freedom, favorites

“Metaphors are dangerous. Metaphors are not to be trifled with. A single metaphor can give birth to love.” - Milan Kundera

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” is the story about love in a time of despotism. During the Prague Spring of 1968, Tomas, an intellectual Czech brain surgeon, sexually conquers scores of women in a vain attempt to try to forget that he, himself, is neither free nor living a meaningful life. Reality crashes when Tomas falls in love with Tereza and when the Soviets crush the...more

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Jul 01, 2009 Ben rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, good-fiction, read-in-2009, war, philosophy, to-read-again, all-time-favorites, romantic-love-and-hate, memorable-characters

I was hesitant to start this, and figured for awhile that it would be one of those books that maybe I’d get around to or maybe I wouldn’t. It just didn’t seem like something I’d enjoy – it seemed too soft, or too postmodern, or too feel-good, or too based in hedonism, or too surface oriented. What caused me to give it a shot was the simple fact that I’ll be traveling to Prague in a few weeks, and since the book's setting takes place there, I figured it may put me in the mood for the trip. I figu...more

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Apr 23, 2011 Megha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews

Kundera is an unconventional writer, to say the least. If you are looking for fully fleshed characters or a smooth plot, The Unbearable Lightness of Being is not for you. Kundera merely uses plot and characters as tools or examples to explain his philosophy about life, and that is what this novel is all about. He will provide a glimpse of his characters' lives, hit the pause button and then go on to explain all about what just happened, the philosophy and psychology which drives the lives of his...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Riku Sayuj rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Riku by: Abid Hassan

Shelves: reviews, favorites

The Unbelievable Lightness of The Novel

I had started reading this in 2008 and had gotten along quite a bit before I stopped reading the book for some reason and then it was forgotten. Recently, I saw the book in a bookstore and realized that I hadn't finished it. I picked it up and started it all over again since I was not entirely sure where I had left off last time. I was sure however that I had not read more than, say, 30 pages or so.

I definitely could not remember reading it for a long peri...more

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Aug 10, 2007 dirt rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

the people in this book have a lot of sex. 75% of the book is getting down and doing the nasty (or thinking about it). the sex parts are written in that lofty academic language of "heat" and "passion". the word moist is used liberally. all the really raunchy stuff about body fluids is left out. though probably not too much fluid was exchanged because these people fucked and fucked and fucked and never had babies. the really interesting stuff comes between the sex parts.

the book is propelled alon...more the people in this book have a lot of sex. 75% of the book is getting down and doing the nasty (or thinking about it). the sex parts are written in that lofty academic language of "heat" and "passion". the word moist is used liberally. all the really raunchy stuff about body fluids is left out. though probably not too much fluid was exchanged because these people fucked and fucked and fucked and never had babies. the really interesting stuff comes between the sex parts.

the book is propelled along with a series of misunderstandings. coincidences and other people actions are easy to misinterpret. is this song playing because the universe is conspiring to send me a message? do you understand me when i stand naked in front of a mirror wearing a bowler cap? probably not, unless you have read this book. shared understanding only develops over time.

the idea of the soul is huge:

"A long time ago, man would listen in amazement to the sound of regular beats in his chest, never suspecting what they were. He was unable to identify himself with so alien and unfamiliar an object as the body. The body was a cage, and inside the cage was something which looked, listened, feared, thought, and marveled; that something, that remainder left over after the body had been accounted for, was the soul.

Today, of course, the body is no longer unfamiliar: we know that the beating in our chest is the heart and that the nose is the nozzle of a hose sticking out of the body to take oxygen to the lungs. The face is nothing but an instrument panel registering all the body mechanisms: digestion, sight, hearing, respiration, thought.

Ever since man has learned to give each part of the body a name, the body has given him less trouble. He has also learned that the soul is nothing more than the gray matter of the brain in action. The old duality of body and soul has become shrouded in scientific terminology, and we can laugh at it as merely an obsolete prejudice.

But just make someone who has fallen in love listen to his stomach rumble, the unity of body and soul, that lyrical illusion of the age of science, instantly fades away."

a question raised by the author, is our body a reflection of our soul? do we have a pretty face because we have a pretty soul?

another topic was our life as music. the motifs introduced early in our life are repeated as we grow older. when we are old the music is largely set. few new themes and ideas are added.

i don't particularly agree with these ideas, but it does give you something to munch on and ponder. the book abounds with interesting and unanswerable questions. you might be asking yourself, "what does mr. kundera think about questions?"

this is your answer:

"Indeed, the only truly serious questions are ones that even a child can formulate. Only the most naive questions are truly serious. They are questions with no answers. A question with no answer is a barrier that cannot be breached. In other words, it is questions with no answers that set the limit for human possibilities, describe the boundaries of human existence."(less)

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Jun 16, 2008 J rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There is probably one novel that is the most responsible for the direction of my post-graduation European backpacking trip ten years ago which landed me in Prague for two solid weeks. Shortly before my friend Chad and I departed, he mailed me a letter and directed me to get my hands on a copy of Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Just read it, he wrote. Whatever else you do, just read this book. It is about everything in the world.

Being already a Kafka fan of some long-standing,...more

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Sep 13, 2010 فـــــــدوى rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

منذ متى وانا لم اقرأ رواية بتلك الروعة ...
ميلان كونديرا أعادني من جديد الى عالم الروايات المترجمة الذي كنت برحته منذ زمن ليس بقليل ..
من أين جاء كونديرا بكل هذه الفلسفه ...وهذه المعاني الراقيه
يطرح كونديرا تساؤل عميق حول "" إمكانيةإدانة ما هو زائل؟ "" بمعني هل يمكننا الحكم على صحه او خطأ أفعالنا أن كانت حياتنا هي واحده فقط ...
وعلى ضوء هذه الأشكالية الفلسفيه العميقه يقص علينا حكاية الدكتور توماس وحياته ...الصدف التي تحكمت فيها و إختياراته التي تسببت في تغيير مساراها أكثر من مره ...

الدكتور توماس كا...more منذ متى وانا لم اقرأ رواية بتلك الروعة ...
ميلان كونديرا أعادني من جديد الى عالم الروايات المترجمة الذي كنت برحته منذ زمن ليس بقليل ..
من أين جاء كونديرا بكل هذه الفلسفه ...وهذه المعاني الراقيه
يطرح كونديرا تساؤل عميق حول "" إمكانيةإدانة ما هو زائل؟ "" بمعني هل يمكننا الحكم على صحه او خطأ أفعالنا أن كانت حياتنا هي واحده فقط ...
وعلى ضوء هذه الأشكالية الفلسفيه العميقه يقص علينا حكاية الدكتور توماس وحياته ...الصدف التي تحكمت فيها و إختياراته التي تسببت في تغيير مساراها أكثر من مره ...

الدكتور توماس كان نموذج للكثير من المثقفين التشكيين إبان الاجتياح الروسي للتشيك وما صاحب ذلك من تغيرات سياسية و أجتماعية أثرت على شكل المجتمع وعلى حياة الأفراد.

يضع كونديرا مشاعرنا في ميزان الحياه لنحدد وزنها ثم نعيد تعريف معني الثقل والخفه
لنتعرف من جديد اي تلك المشاعر قد أرهق حياتنا لثقله وربما لخفته ...!
أذن فأي المشاعر أفضل لحياتنا الثقيل منها أم الخفيف ..! ربما هذا واحد من الاسئله التي قال عنها الكاتب ..
"" وحدها الأسئلة الساذجة هي الأسئلة الهامة فعلاً. تلك الأسئلة التي تبقى دون جواب. إن سؤالاً دون جواب حاجز لا طرقات بعده. وبطريقة أخرى: الأسئلة التي تبقى دون جواب هي التي تشير إلى حدود الإمكانات الإنسانية، وهي التي ترسم وجودنا."" (less)

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Nov 21, 2011 MJ Nicholls rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to MJ by: Book Group Laddie (#1)

Shelves: novels, other-parts-of-europe

A good Europop lit-fic offering—a bit outmoded now, like Snap! or 2Unlimited. But still compelling fodder for philosophising undergrads with higher aspirations than erotic encounters with their right hands. The narrator is droll, sardonic, wise, and almost unbearably smug. In fact, I thought about using the line The Unbearable Smugness of Being but I decided not to because . . . drat! Also: I have vivid memories of the film version, where Juliette Binoche’s underpants ride up her crack in a most...more

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Jan 31, 2009 Chloe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-list, fiction, philosophy, i_am_in_love

You know those books that you finish and then immediately begin again because they were just that good? That's what happened with Unbearable Lightness and me. After turning the page on the incredibly heart-wrenching last chapter, I needed to begin it anew so that I could savor those doughnuts of wisdom that Kundera tosses out like they were stale day-olds.

After reading the first few chapters of the book, I wrote a note to myself that said "If Love in the Time of Cholera is a representative of La...more You know those books that you finish and then immediately begin again because they were just that good? That's what happened with Unbearable Lightness and me. After turning the page on the incredibly heart-wrenching last chapter, I needed to begin it anew so that I could savor those doughnuts of wisdom that Kundera tosses out like they were stale day-olds.

After reading the first few chapters of the book, I wrote a note to myself that said "If Love in the Time of Cholera is a representative of Latin passion and willingness to fling oneself off the cliffs of insanity, then The Unbearable Lightness of Being is its Teutonic counterpart. This book is filled with enough neuroses, doubt and angst to keep Freudian analysts busy for thousands of billable hours and make the reader wonder whether love is even worth all of the trouble." I thought that would make a great beginning of a review. Then I kept reading and realized that my first impressions, that this is a book about love and it's fall-out, was a remarkably short-sighted interpretation of this grand epic.

Sure, this book deals with love, but only so far as we can say that life inevitably deals with love at some point along the way. Kundera's greatness is that he attempts to chart the intertwining paths of life that groups of people take and how chance encounters that mean so little to one party can have profound, life-changing ramifications for the other. How one person can be cursed to flit through life living only skin deep, the titular Unbearable Lightness, while another drags their guilt and lust with them like some albatross strung about their neck. How national identity does shape who we are, no matter how far we run from the country itself.

Any review that I could write of this book would do no justice to the book itself. It is beautiful. It is heart-breaking (I could title this review "Animals in Literature and Why They Kill Me Every Fucking Time"). It gives you hope for your own life and then rips it away at the last possible second. This is a book that makes you believe that writing is an art form and the grandmasters of the craft are sorrowfully few and far between. This is a book that I know I will reread again and again as the years go by and experience reshapes me along the way, if only to see how these different iterations of Logan react to Kundera's genius.(less)

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Mar 22, 2007 Diana Polansky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: all

"Making love with a woman and sleeping with a woman are two separate passions, not merely different but opposite. Love does not make itself felt in the desire for copulation (a desire that extends to an infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep (a desire limited to one woman)."

A philosophical window into love, passion, jealousy, and duty--set during the Russian invasion of the Czechoslovakia. When you read this, you will re-evaluate your relationships--past and present--and wo...more

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Sep 14, 2007 Nathan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Suede fans.

Shelves: books-i-hope-die, fiction

The Unbearable Lightness of Being was almost unbearable to read. There was a lot of pseudo-intellectual meandering about things that deserved a little more grit. Rather, I prefer a little more reality. I didn't care about the characters, and I didn't feel like they cared about anything. I feel like saying I was impressed with the thoughtiness of this book, but by the time I typed it I'd be so buried under multiple levels of irony that I'd suddenly be accidentally sincere again. What was I saying...more

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Aug 29, 2010 Aya Ezz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-reads, novels, favorites

هل هي الثقل أم الخفة أم الأثنين معاً؟
هل هي رواية أم تحليل نفسي أم فلسفة حياة أم إعادة تناول لمفاهيم الحياة؟
هل هي جانب من الحياة أم كل الحياة؟؟
بدايةً هي أول قراءاتي لكونديرا ولن تكون الأخيرة بعد قراءتي لهذه الراوية، فقبل أي شئ بهرني أسلوب كونديرا في السرد، وللحق سألقبه بـ "الحكاء الذكي" نعم فهو يتمتع بقدر من الذكاء ما يجعلك تعض اناملك بعد كل سطر تقرأه ، لا بل كل سطر يهمس به في أذنك من شدة الانبهار، فلم أشعر معه بملل ورتابة الروايات بل شعرت به يهمس في أذني بتفاصيل الرواية، إحترم وقدر القارئ في كل...more هل هي الثقل أم الخفة أم الأثنين معاً؟
هل هي رواية أم تحليل نفسي أم فلسفة حياة أم إعادة تناول لمفاهيم الحياة؟
هل هي جانب من الحياة أم كل الحياة؟؟
بدايةً هي أول قراءاتي لكونديرا ولن تكون الأخيرة بعد قراءتي لهذه الراوية، فقبل أي شئ بهرني أسلوب كونديرا في السرد، وللحق سألقبه بـ "الحكاء الذكي" نعم فهو يتمتع بقدر من الذكاء ما يجعلك تعض اناملك بعد كل سطر تقرأه ، لا بل كل سطر يهمس به في أذنك من شدة الانبهار، فلم أشعر معه بملل ورتابة الروايات بل شعرت به يهمس في أذني بتفاصيل الرواية، إحترم وقدر القارئ في كل سطر ولم تفوته فائته، في كل موقف أو مشهد يسرده يلحقه لك بشرح مبسط، يذكرك دائماً بكل التفاصيل التي قصها عليك من قبل، مثلما قال"نعم لقد كتبت هذه الجملة في الفصل الأول" فهو حقاً احترمني -كقارئ- فانحنيت له احتراماً، لم يتعامل معي على انني متلقي فقط بل يتعايش معي ، ينبهني تاره ويذكري بما قد انسى تاره اخرى، لم يفصل نفسه -كسارد للأحداث - بل اقتحم معي في الاحداث، فشاركني المتعة اثناء القراءة

للإختصار الرواية يتمركز خطها السردي حول اربعة شخصيات رئيسة أهمهم توماس بطل الراوية، هذه الشخصيات تتنوع بين الخفة والثقل، تدور الرواية على خلفية أحداث سياسية "ثقيلة" حيث اجتياح روسيا لدولة التشيك خلال الحرب العالمية الثانية، و على خلفية انتشار النظام الشيوعي "الثقيل" كما يظن.
أكثر شخصية تفاعلت معها كانت تريزا، تلك المرأة الثقيلة التي فشلت في ارتداء عباءة الخفة التي يترتديها توماس طوال الوقت، وللحق بارع هو كونديرا في تجسيد صورة الخائن بالشخص الذي يتمتع بالخفة، رغم ان الخطايا هي أكثر ما يثقل الإنسان
أكثر ما أعجبني -بل بهرني- الفصل الثالث الذي تناول شرح مفصل للمفاهيم بين توماس وسابينا، فعلى الرغم من أنه خلا من أي جانب روائي إلا انه زاد الرواية ثقلاً معنوياً وفكرياً صادم جداً-لأنه جديد في طريقه تناوله- ومبهر جداً جداً في ما حمله من معاني
أكثر ما ازعجني انني توقفت عن قراءتها لفترة ثم عدتها لها وانهيتها، وسأعاود قراءتها بالإنجليزية وربما سأبدأ فيها من الآن

وللحق
هذه المراجعة لا تعطي الرواية حقها فقد كتبتها على عجل وربما أعود لكتابة مراجعة أخرى لاحقاً فالرواية بها العديد من الجوانب التي يجب التوقف عندها لشدة ما كانت مبهرة ولا يمكن اغفالها
وفي النهاية: الرواية ليست اعترافاً ذاتياً للكاتب ، و إنما تنقيب عمّا تصير عليه الحياة الإنسانية في الفخ الذي يسمّى العالم

الخمس نجوم أعطيها بشكر خاص لميلان كونديرا الذي اعتبره منذ الآن من كتابي المفضلين، ريتنا نملك روائيين أذكياء مثله
:)(less)

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Nov 10, 2011 Angus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-and-blogged, 5-stars

Original post at Book Rhapsody.

***

Intro

When I bought this book years ago, I didn’t know what to expect. I was still the immature kid who wanted to show an air of superiority then, and I thought that having this book in my library would add to the effect.

But I did not read it immediately. Maybe I was too busy then? My best friend saw this book and she borrowed it. Coincidentally, she was trying to call me from London last night, but I was not able to take her call because I was in deep slumber. B...more

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Dec 25, 2010 ماهر عبدالرحمن rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

كنت قد قرأت هذه الرواية فى بداية المشوار مع القراءة، وتعلمت منها فى بداية الحياة العملية بعد الجامعة.. وكنت قد تعلمت منها -أيضا-بعد قصة حب مطولة، ويمكنك أن تقول أنها كانت رواية وليست مجرد قصة حب
هذه كتابة قديمة عن الكائن الذى لا تحتمل خفته، وأنا أيضا أقرأها معكم

عجز كامل عن الخيبة

- 1-

كثيراً أحاول الجلوس للكتابة على ورقة بيضاء، و يقع الكلام مني على الورق مش مفعّل و أثقل من الوزن، كلام دايماً يزعق في وشي، و يقول إني مش حاسه و لا حاسس بالورق راخر؛ يمكن بكتبني عشان معرفش غير نفسي؟!بحاول بمجهود خرافي...more كنت قد قرأت هذه الرواية فى بداية المشوار مع القراءة، وتعلمت منها فى بداية الحياة العملية بعد الجامعة.. وكنت قد تعلمت منها -أيضا-بعد قصة حب مطولة، ويمكنك أن تقول أنها كانت رواية وليست مجرد قصة حب
هذه كتابة قديمة عن الكائن الذى لا تحتمل خفته، وأنا أيضا أقرأها معكم

عجز كامل عن الخيبة

- 1-

كثيراً أحاول الجلوس للكتابة على ورقة بيضاء، و يقع الكلام مني على الورق مش مفعّل و أثقل من الوزن، كلام دايماً يزعق في وشي، و يقول إني مش حاسه و لا حاسس بالورق راخر؛ يمكن بكتبني عشان معرفش غير نفسي؟!بحاول بمجهود خرافي أن أكتب، بس و أنا منتظر الملل في السطر الجاي.. ملل الكتابة، القراءة، الأحلام، التسلخات المتكررة، جودو، انتظار الحتمي ... حتى ملل تعليق صور علاقاتي.. كل واحدة منهم عدت على نفس المكان .. و بنفس الطريقة في كل مرة، نظره، فصوره، كل مرة كنت بهرب بسرعة، لإني ببساطة اكتشفت إن الإستمرار قاتل، عمر ما في صورة لزقت للأبد. و أظن ده مدخل مناسب لكي أتحدث عن "كائن لا تحتمل خفته" !.كمان الأعمال الفنية الكبيرة هى تلك التي تنفتح للعديد من التأويلات، و ذلك ما ينطبق على عمل "كونديرا" هذا، و الواحد مع الحاجات دي ممكن يتجاوز الرقم سبعة (السابق) بقليل!! .. فيمكننا أن نتحدث مرة عن "المتعذر تصوره"، و مرة عن أوديب الذي كان عليه أن يفقأ عينيه حين أبصر، و مرة عن كون "البراز هو مسألة لاهوتية أكثر صعوبة من مسألة الشر"، و مرة عن هؤلاء الذين ماتوا من أجل بلاهة، و مرة عن العبارة الموسيقية الأخيرة من رباعية بيتهوفين الأخيرة "أليس من ذلك بد؟ ليس من ذلك بد"، و مرة عن "القرار الموزون بخطورة"، و مرة عن خرافة نيتشه المجنونة التي أربك بها الكثير من الفلاسفة، بالفكرة التي يكتنفها الغموض عن العود الأبدي، و مرة عن الأزواج من الأضداد: النور-الظلمة، السميك- الرقيق، الحار- البارد، الكائن- اللاكائن ... أو ما يتجاوز هذه الصبيانية إلى الثقل- الخفة .. و مرة عن الحب الذي كان بين توماس و تيريزا "كان جميلاً بكل تأكيد، و لكنه كان متعباً: وجب عليه دائماً أن يخفي أمراً ما، و أن يتكتم، و أن يستدرك، و أن يرفع من معنوياتها، و أن يؤاسيها، و أن يثبت باستمرار حبه لها، و أن يتلقى ملامات غيرتها و ألمهاوأحلامها، و أن يشعر بالذنب، و أن يبرر نفسه و أن يعتذر.." و مرة عن الكيتش الشيوعي ،و مرة عن حلم المسيرة الكبرى. ومع ذلك سوف أقف مع شيء آخر تماماً، قد يكون متواضعاً مع كل ما تقدم ..لكنه مع ذلك يستطيع أن يفي بالغرض. هذه مرة الهوس الرومانتيكي/الإباحي .. الخيبة و العجز عن الخيبة.يفتح كونديرا المقطع العاشر من القسم الخامس، قسم "الخفة و الثقل" بالحديث عن أنه "يمكن قسم الرجال الذين يلاحقون النساء بكثرة إلى قسمين: القسم الأول يبحث لدى كل النساء عن حلمه الخاص و عن فكرته الذاتية عن المرأة .. و هم دائماً و أبداً خائبون لأن المثال كما نعرف يستحيل إيجاده. و بما أن الخيبة هى التي تدفعهم للتنقل .. فإنها تعطي تقلبهم ذريعة ميلودرامية
والقسم الآخر تحركه رغبة الاستحواذ على الاختلاف اللامتناهي للعالم النسائي الموضوعي [وهوسهم:] إباحي، والنساء لا يجدنه مؤثراً إطلاقاً: فبما أن الرجل في هذه الحالة لا يسقط على النساء مثالاً ذاتياً، فإن كل شيء عندئذ يثير إهتمامه و لا شيء يمكن أن يجعله خائبا في آن .. و يتحولون في نهاية المطاف حتماً إلى هواة للغرائب.
و لا أظن أن كونديرا قد شغل نفسه بإجابة سؤال من عينة: هل يمكن أن يتحول المرء من هذا القسم إلى ذاك؟ هل يمكن أن تحدث تلك النقلة ؟! هل هى نقلة سهلة ؟! و كيف يتأكد المرء من نقلته تلك ؟! و هل ثمن علامة بين النقلة الحقيقية و النقلة الوهمية (الصورية بالمعنى الأرسطي) ؟! و أي مكان ذلك الذي يتيح للمرء أن يحكم منه على أن النقلة - إذا حدثت- تكون بمثابة تقدم ؟!
دلوقتي ممكن أضيف سطر آخر من عينة أن الأعمال الفنية الكبيرة ليست هى تلك التي تنفتح للعديد من التأويلات و فقط، بل هى بالأساس، تلك التي تثير الكثير من الأسئلة

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ثمة رواية أخرى لكونديرا بعنوان "الجهل" تعتبر بالنسبة لي مصدر إلهام لا محدود، فهى مع فيلم "ترومان" مع أعمال ميشيل فوكو مع المنهج الماركسي كما أفهمه .. بالإضافة لعلاقتي بصديق العمر "ساهم في بناء أفكاري .. و تغيير بعض ما كان قد تكون من قبل" هو شريف يونس. كلها تعتبر من الأعمدة الرئيسة في تكويني الفكري.
عندما قرأت "الجهل" للمرة الأولى لاحظت أنه لم يبحث عن معنى "العودة" في اللغة العربية و لا معنى "الحنين" .. و اكتشفت أن كلمة ( حنّ – حنيناً ) أي : صوّتَ، يُقال : حنت الناقة : مدت صوتها شوقاً إلى ولدها، و حنّ الرجل : صوّت طرباً أو توجعاً. أما كلمة "التوبة" فتعني "العودة" عن المعصية .. و في المثل: العود أحمد، أما كلمة "فسق" فتعنى "الخروج" و في القرآن : فسجدوا جميعاً إلا إبليس كان من الجن ففسق عن أمر ربه .. لذا لا تبدو مسألة النقلة/الخروج/الفسق هذه سهلة أبداً.
و بسهولة يمكن الربط بين فكرة الحنين/التوبة/العودة (و (الصويت) إذا أردت !!) بالقسم الأول من الرجال الذي يتحدث عنه كونديرا، قسم الخائبين بامتياز (وليس توماس طبعاً ضمن هذه الفئة).
طبعاً يمكنك أن تعكس تلك اللعبة بأن تبدء أنت من الهوس الإباحي/والعجز عن الخيبة .. إلخ، إلى ما قد تراه أرقى (هكذا الأخلاقيون)، أعني إلى الحديث عن القسم الحالم/الرومانتيكي .. و قد يساعدك على الأمر أن "الصويت" ليس من المنطقة القريبة/الأولى أعني أنه ليس من (القرار) بل إنه من المنطقة البعيدة/المرتفعة و أعني أنه من الجواب .. و قد يساعدك كذلك أن كونديرا يشير إلى أن هذا القسم من الرجال تجده مؤثراً عند النساء .. و من الناحية العقائدية فإن التائب/ العائد عن الذنب كمن لا ذنب له.
ما أود التأكيد عليه هو أنني لم أختار أن أبدء من قسم الخائبين انتقالاً إلى قسم العاجزين عن الخيبة لأنني أقف مع هؤلاء أو أؤلئك ...و لا أصنف الأمر على أنه نقلة إلى الأمام أو ردة إلى الخلف ... و لاحتى معناه أنني بلا موقف ... غاية الأمر أنني أود أن نلعب معاً تلك اللعبة. على أننا يجب أن نتفق على أن الأمر إذا ما حدث لشخص ما و تحول من خانة إلى أخرى ...فهذه نقلة.. أنت من موقعك الذي ستحدد رؤيتك لتلك النقلة ..للأمام .. للخلف.. أو حتى حرف L (..) لأن حكمك هيكون مرتبط بموقعك .. فستكون النقلة أمامك أنت أو خلفك أنت و هكذا.
بقيت ملاحظة أخيرة في هذا الجزء أن التخصيص في الكلام عن العالم الموضوعي للنساء/أو حتى الرجال، لا يمنع من أن هذا الحديث قد يصلح لأشياء أخرى، حتى و لو كانت مجرد أفكار .. فالحنين للنساء/الرجال .. مش مختلف عن الحنين للأفكار أو العقائد .. مش مختلف عن الحنين للغة أو الوطن .. و هكذا
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Jul 13, 2008 Madeline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-list

This book definitely wins the award for Most Pretentious Title Ever. People would ask me what I was reading, and I would have to respond by reading the title in a sarcastic, Oxford-Professor-of-Literature voice to make it clear that I was aware of how obnoxiously superior I sounded. Honestly, Kundera: stop trying so hard. Chill. Out.
When I first started reading this book, I really disliked it. Kundera wastes the first two chapters on philosophical ramblings before he finally gets around to telli...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Eman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 100-core

لا اعرف ان كنت سعيدة من الانتهاء من قرأتها أم حزينة ؟ كانت رواية رائعة .. عميقة ..دفينة ..واقعية ..فلسفية..بعدها الإنساني في دواخل المرأة والرجل ،علاقتهما المصيرية ،و دواخل الإنسان التائه في هذا الكون ...الرواية تستاهل رفيو مرررتب :)

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هذه الرواية كالحلم تعبر به الى عوالم الداخل الانسانية تساؤلات عظيمة طِرحت عن ... المصير...الاختيار... المسؤلية …. الحمل "ثقيله وخفيفه"...حاله من الافكار الوجودية مع خلفية سياسية اقتصادية ذات ايقاع انساني يعرج على الثقافة والحضارة والإيمان والفن.......more

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Jan 21, 2010 Weinz rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I spent part of my lazy weekend reading this book on the grassy hills of The Huntington Library surrounded by gardens, art, and beauty. Even the serene surroundings and my sensational reading date could not make up for this book. Weak characters, horrible assumptions, pseudo philosophy, and no clear grasp of how women are actually motivated.

Only wannabe Lotharios who pride themselves as philosophers would enjoy this.

I tried. I really did.

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Mar 10, 2009 Evan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads, yearning, fucked-up-women

Philip Kaufman's 1980s film version was memorable, a wispy art movie that seemed maybe too suffused by a slick 'Elvira Madigan' sensibility, a bit "light," as it were. It was sort of the English Patient of its day (though not as good, perhaps). Juliet Binoche was in both, as it happened.

So I'm starting the book and it riffs a bit on Nietzsche's idea of the eternal return. I can't decide if this is profound or half-baked or both. I'm not convinced that the paradigm of lightness and weight is the...more Philip Kaufman's 1980s film version was memorable, a wispy art movie that seemed maybe too suffused by a slick 'Elvira Madigan' sensibility, a bit "light," as it were. It was sort of the English Patient of its day (though not as good, perhaps). Juliet Binoche was in both, as it happened.

So I'm starting the book and it riffs a bit on Nietzsche's idea of the eternal return. I can't decide if this is profound or half-baked or both. I'm not convinced that the paradigm of lightness and weight is the most profound of all questions, as posited.

But there are love stories here, and now they begin and I like the time and the setting in Prague and the "lightness" of the narrative so far, apart from the initial attempt to 'legitimize' it via some philosophical framework about the transitory nature of existence that could have been stated more briefly. But hey, you gotta give the writer his room. We'll see....

OK, on page 57: Getting my teeth into this now and it's improving greatly. Backstories of characters are filling out, the story of the Czech provincial girl and her fucked up upbringing and longing for something better is sweet. Just enough philosophizing in the mix to keep it thought-provoking. Still reading...

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OK, nearly finished and here's the lowdown:

I'm giving a mild thumbs-up to "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." I don't think Kundera handles his nonlinear narrative as well as Marquez did in "Love in the Time of Cholera" and the main character, the promiscuous surgeon, is not terribly interesting despite the interesting backdrop of Czechoslovakia during the Soviet clampdown of 1968. The women characters are rather more interesting. Kundera's philosophizing sometimes seems pedantic and half-baked; he tries to force a lot of ruminations into the mix to lend significance to his love story. Not sure that it all works neatly, but it does hold my attention. It's a mixed bag, but there are enough pure chocolate treats to offset the black liquorice jellybeans.

I'm giving it a mild four-star rating because I think it's a more significant book than merits merely three stars. It's worth a try if you're so inclined.

All right, I feel the need to amend this review yet again. The book is, in fact, frequently infuriating; Kundera seems compelled to interrupt his narrative often with tiresome ruminations on politics and such - there's an interminable section in which he expounds on kitsch (get on with it already!) - even injecting himself as the author into the mix, and the effect seems lazy rather than inspired. And yet there are good things still; the bit about the four types of people defined by how they must be seen by others is pretty damned good. I have mixed feelings about trotting out a dying dog to evoke sympathy and comment on the bond between Tomas and Tereza.

Despite everything, I'm sticking with four stars, because, on balance, it was a rewarding read. Maybe overrated, but still worthy.(less)

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May 20, 2013 Noodamon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mi spenna volando

Eravamo nella tecnologica sala audio-visivi, Max sghignazzava perché la prof. di Francese, riferendosi alla registrazione su nastro, continuava a ripetere: “controllate se siete venuti… siete venuti?” Io fischiettavo un motivetto che in quei giorni del 1986 era in voga. Il ritornello mi venne da cantarlo e lo feci: Mi spenna volando, Mi spenna volando.. Mi spenna volando, Questa insostenibile leggerezza dell’essere.. (*1)
Le due compagne che mi davano le spalle si girarono e mi...more

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Aug 09, 2010 JSou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001, i-own-you, goodreaders-rock

NOT A REAL REVIEW...JUST SOME QUOTES THAT I LOVED.

Tomas did not realize at the time that metaphors are dangerous. Metaphors are not to be trifled with. A single metaphor can give birth to love.

Tereza saw herself threatened by women, all women. All women were potential mistresses for Tomas, and she feared them all.

Ouch. That one brought back some not-so-good memories.

Her soul had lost its onlooker's curiosity, its malice and pride; it had retreated deep into the body again, to the farthest gut, w...more

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Feb 24, 2010 K.D. Oliveros rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to K.D. by: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and 501 Must Read Books

Shelves: 1001-core

Unbelievably original! I have never read a book like this! It is full of dreamlike lyricism, intense emotion, truth and honesty. One of the books that truly deserves to be in both 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and 501 Must Read Books! It is one of the memorable books I've read in the recent past.

This is a story of two couples:
Couple 1: Tomas and Tereza - he is a doctor and she used to be a waitress before their life together. He is a pathological womanizer but he rationalizes that it...more Unbelievably original! I have never read a book like this! It is full of dreamlike lyricism, intense emotion, truth and honesty. One of the books that truly deserves to be in both 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and 501 Must Read Books! It is one of the memorable books I've read in the recent past.

This is a story of two couples:
Couple 1: Tomas and Tereza - he is a doctor and she used to be a waitress before their life together. He is a pathological womanizer but he rationalizes that it does not affect his feelings for Tereza. She is a battered child with a weirdo mother who sees the body as just for sex, eating and defecating. Tomas and Tereza fell in love while Tomas has already left his family. Later in the story he met his son, Simon who loves Tomas despite not knowing him since birth. Tomas, however, did not feel anything for him except that he felt uneasy seeing his mouth in his son. Tereza had a female dog who they called by a male name, Karenin. The dog's death towards the end of the story preempts the death of the couple in a car crash.

Couple 2: Sabina and Franz - Sabina is Tomas's favorite mistress. However, when they parted ways (because Tomas left Prague as he got into a controversy over his "Letter to the Editor" so he left his medical practice and went to the province with Tereza), Sabina fell in love with Franz, a pure, idealist Geneva professor. However, Franz volunteered to go to Cambonia during the Communist siege so he got killed.

Now what makes this seemingly dud four-angled love story interesting was that Kundera tried to debunk Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of eternal recurrence (the universe and its events have already occurred and will recur ad infinitum), the story’s thematic meditations posit the alternative that each person has only one life to live, and that which occurs in that life, occurs only once and shall never occur again — thus the “lightness” of being; whereas eternal recurrence imposes a “heaviness” on our lives and on the decisions we make (it gives them weight, to borrow from Nietzsche's metaphor), a heaviness that Nietzsche thought could be either a tremendous burden or great benefit depending on one's perspective (Source: Wikipedia).

For me among the 4 characters, Tereza is definitely "heaviness" because she has so many rules. Tomas is "lightness" because he does not want to be govern by rules and he insists that his womanizing is for sex only and it does not diminishes his feelings for Tereza. Sabina is "lightness" also because she is a free-spirit. As one (the other being Simon) of the "dreamers" of this novel, Franz is definitely "lightness" too. However, the title of the novel pertains to unbearability of this lightness which for me means that it is not always okay to be in the side of lightness as we need to be govern by rules.

Ergo, Kundera seems to be saying that it is not always okay to be an adulterer, a free-spirit or a dreamer.(less)

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Oct 21, 2008 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Novels with a philosophical ax to grind can be heavy going, particularly when one blade of the ax is political. Kundera, however, manages to put a keen edge on his philosophical arguments while engaging the reader in a wonderful game of discovery, played by following the relationships that develop among his cast of Platonic characters. If played correctly, the game becomes one of self discovery. To provide perspective and a tongue-in-cheek "insight" into the creative process, the author occasion...more

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Jan 07, 2008 Amy Reed rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: NO ONE

I have a bone to pick with Kundera and his following. People, this has got to be the most over-rated book of human history. I mean, references to infidelity alone (even infidelity that makes use of funky costumes like '50s ganster hats--the only note-and-applauseworthy aspect this book!) do NOT make for good literature, and such is The Unbearable Lightness of Being, in a nutshell. The male protaganist is, hands down, a one-dimensional and boring buffoon, while the female protaganist is lackluste...more

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Apr 13, 2007 Maria rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub

I don't like authors who tell me how to read or point out exactly what they think is important in their text. Kundera couldn't keep his mouth shut and wouldn't let the story flow, so he gets a sad face.

Also, one of the characters had a thing for fingering people in the butt. Unless I'm reading male gay erotica, I don't like ass play in my novels.

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Feb 28, 2012 Rania rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite, novels

ما يميز هذه الرواية بنظري، هي كم التساؤلات التي ظهرت مع كل قسم كنت أقرأه.
ليس فقط التساؤلات إنما أسلوب الرواية الذي دفعني للتفكير ، و الإختلاء بنفسي و الحديث مطولاً عن ما اعتبره خفة و عمّا احتمله من ثقل محبب.

أعجبني أسلوب الكاتب في طرحه أفكاره الفلسفية وبعض التحليلات النفسية و الإجتماعية للشخصبات و الأحداث.
بيّن جانب مختلف للرجل المحب للنساء "توماس" ،نفى بعض الإعتقادات التي كانت تسكن داخلي.
كنت اعتقد مسبقا إن الحب بإمكانه أن يجعل من هذا النوع من الرجال مخلصاً ، هذا أحدهم ، أم الإعتقاد الآخر، أن هذا...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Sarah Null rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: page-to-screen, owned

When I was a kid, I hated reading "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels. I couldn't stand not knowing what might have happened if I had chosen choice B instead of choice A - and then, once I turned to page 68 (where choosing choice A would take me) I found myself faced with another choice. The combinations of choices were too great for me to have found out every possible outcome, and so not knowing which choice to choose, I chose nothing at all and stopped reading the book.

Life is like a Choose You...more When I was a kid, I hated reading "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels. I couldn't stand not knowing what might have happened if I had chosen choice B instead of choice A - and then, once I turned to page 68 (where choosing choice A would take me) I found myself faced with another choice. The combinations of choices were too great for me to have found out every possible outcome, and so not knowing which choice to choose, I chose nothing at all and stopped reading the book.

Life is like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel, except instead of Choice A or Choice B, we have an infinite number of possibilities ahead of us. And choosing nothing at all is not an option, because in life, choosing nothing and taking no action is in fact a choice not to change anything.

This book is about many things. It is about two couples. It is about faithfulness and betrayal and war and intrigue and art and poetry and bowler hats and a dog named Karenin. But the thing that stands out most to me: It is about choices.

The whole idea of the lightness of being is foreign to me. Kundera asserts that, as we only have one life to live and therefore do not know the weight of our choices without anything to compare the outcomes to, this removes the burden - the substance, the weight - of life and makes being unbearably light.

“Human life occurs only once, and the reason we cannot determine which of our decisions are good and which bad is that in a given situation we can make only one decision; we are not granted a second, third, or fourth life in which to compare various decisions.”

I am fascinated with this idea of lightness of being. I am at a time in my life where I am at a crossroads. I have some huge, life-changing decisions to make and at the same time circumstances call into question all of the choices I have made heretofore. This, however, does not make my existence feel light. It makes it feel unbearably heavy instead. Consider the language we use to describe times of great stress or uncertainty: My past, present, and future are all "weighing heavily on my mind," so to speak, and this seems a much more apt description for how I feel than a lightness of being. When things are all figured out and going well, we "feel a weight has been lifted" from us. How, then, can the uncertainty I face make me feel the lightness of being?

I wish I could skip ahead to page 68 of life to see what my decision will lead to if I choose Choice A. And then I would skip to page 75 to see what would happen if I chose Choice B. Instead, I have to take a giant leap of faith that no matter what I choose, no matter how things end up, I will be okay. And that is as heavy a burden as I can imagine.(less)

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Feb 04, 2011 Pollopicu rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading the first 50 pages of Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, I was very tempted to read the one and two star reviews on Goodreads. Most especially women's reaction to Kundera, but I did my best to refrain from doing so. As usual, I didn't want to be negatively influenced by anyone's reviews from the start.

There was something about this book that annoyed me very much, and I really did struggle to read it from a subjective point of view, however, the scenarios seemed so outrage...more After reading the first 50 pages of Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, I was very tempted to read the one and two star reviews on Goodreads. Most especially women's reaction to Kundera, but I did my best to refrain from doing so. As usual, I didn't want to be negatively influenced by anyone's reviews from the start.

There was something about this book that annoyed me very much, and I really did struggle to read it from a subjective point of view, however, the scenarios seemed so outrageously absurd and nonsensical that I simply couldn't get Kundera's narcissism and misogynism past the palate, and please note, that I don't say Thomas' or Franz' misogynism. It didn't feel like I was reading a character's character, it felt like I was reading Kundera's character. It's not that I cannot have an open mind and accept women portrayed as weak beings, who suffer and make mistakes and ruin their lives by making stupid choices, but come on! These women were so unrealistic in every conceivable way. Thomas would score 1-2 women a day? and that's after he lost his job as a Dr. and ended up as a window-cleaner? Is that funny or what? and what about Tereza and Sabina response to all this? The part when Tomas' hair smelled like vagina, and after months of enduring this smell Tereza asks Tomas to go wash his hair? I can go on and on about ridiculous instances but it's not even worth getting into. I could accept it as a work if the writing was brilliant, but it's not. It was ok but nothing extraordinary. The references to Ana Karenina make sense. Although I have not had the pleasure of reading Karenina yet, I am very familiar with Tolstoy's works and I understand he too was quite insensitive to women's needs and tended to be self-focused.

Anyway..further research confirmed my feeling about Kundera, he is notorious for representing women as nothing more than sex objects and mistresses.
I have to admit the story did keep me intrigued and curious enough to want to finish it, but overall I didn't enjoy it.
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Nov 20, 2010 Venus rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

بار هستی نام رمانی از میلان کوندرا است که در سال ۱۹۸۴ نوشته شده‌است. این کتاب که در سال ۱۹۶۸ در پراگ در دورهٔ زمانی موسوم به بهار پراگ می‌گذرد، با مفاهیم فلسفی فراوانی سر و کار دارد. ترجمه لغوی نام اصلی آن سَبُکیِ تحمل‌ناپذیر هستی است.
بار هستی ( یا سبکی تحمل ناپذیر هستی ) را شاید بتوان مشهورترین اثر میلان کوندرا دانست این کتاب در ایران هفده بار به چاپ رسیده است . بار هستی تفکر و کاوش درباره زندگی انسان و فاجعه تنهایی او در جهان است .
کوندرا مفاهیم فلسفی را در قالب رمان به نحوی مطرح می کند که خوا...more بار هستی نام رمانی از میلان کوندرا است که در سال ۱۹۸۴ نوشته شده‌است. این کتاب که در سال ۱۹۶۸ در پراگ در دورهٔ زمانی موسوم به بهار پراگ می‌گذرد، با مفاهیم فلسفی فراوانی سر و کار دارد. ترجمه لغوی نام اصلی آن سَبُکیِ تحمل‌ناپذیر هستی است.
بار هستی ( یا سبکی تحمل ناپذیر هستی ) را شاید بتوان مشهورترین اثر میلان کوندرا دانست این کتاب در ایران هفده بار به چاپ رسیده است . بار هستی تفکر و کاوش درباره زندگی انسان و فاجعه تنهایی او در جهان است .
کوندرا مفاهیم فلسفی را در قالب رمان به نحوی مطرح می کند که خواننده کمتر متوجه این قضیه می شود آثار او از آن دست آثاری است که به واقع هیچ قسمت از کتاب را نمی توان حذف کرد . نویسنده داستان را به شکل غیر خطی روایت می کند و در بسیاری از مواقع مستقیما وارد داستان شده و با خواننده رو در رو صحبت می کند و تمام اینها به هیچ وجه آزار دهنده نیست . این کتاب را می توان بارها و بارها خواند و هر بار مطالبی جدید را کشف کرد.

چگونه بار هستی را به دوش می کشیم؟ آیا «سنگینی» بار هول انگیز و «سبکی» آن دلپذیر است؟ ...
برداشت فلسفی و زبان نافذ کتاب، از همان آغاز خواننده را با مسائل بنیادی هستی بشر روبرو می کند و به تفکر وا می دارد ...
اگرچه شخصیت های کتاب واقعی نیستند، از انسان های واقعی، بهتر درک و احساس می شوند. کوندرا در توصیف قهرمانان خود می نویسد:

«شخصیت های رمانی که نوشته ام، امکانات خود من هستند که تحقق نیافته اند. بدین سبب تمام آنان را هم دوست دارم و هم هراسانم می کنند آنان هر کدام از مرزی گذر کرده اند که من فقط آن را دور زده ام. آن چه مرا مجذوب می کند، مرزی است که از آن گذشته ام- مرزی که فراسوی آن خویشتن من وجود ندارد.»

کلودروا نویسنده ی مشهور فرانسوی، رمان کوندرا را «کتابی عظیم» توصیف می کند که چشم به آینده ی بشر دارد و می نویسد:

«در بهشت رمان نویسان بزرگ، هنری جیمز- با اندکی حسادت- رمان همکار چک را ورق می زند و سر را به علامت تأئید تکان می دهد.»

در سال ۱۹۸۸ فیلمی انگلیسی از روی این کتاب ساخته شد. دانیل دی-لوئیس در نقش توماس، ژولیت بینوش در نقش ترزا، و لنا الین در نقش سابینا در این فیلم بازی کردند. کارگردان این فیلم فیلیپ کوفمان است.(less)

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Oct 17, 2008 Robin rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one

Recommended to Robin by: Book club

Shelves: bad-books

I felt this book was contrived and to me it seemed as if the author tried desperately to sound intellectual. Instead he came off egotistical. First off all the meandering about Nietzche and quite frankly he set me off to start off by making statements I couldn't agree but he goes right on as if it is a trueism that everyone must believe in.

To be quite frank the characters were boring. The prose was uninteresting. There was no emotion, no real depth, and how many times to I have to hear about hi...more

24 likes · like · see review

Apr 11, 2009 Dorothea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Having read a lot of books about life under Soviet Communism from the perspective of Christians who suffered under this regime, it was interesting to read a novel set during this same time period from the perspective of intellectuals and artists who also suffered. This is during the time when the Soviets occupied Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s.

The story revolves around the relationship between an adulterous husband and his longsuffering wife. Normally I refuse to read novels in which the autho...more

5 likes · like · see review

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About Milan Kundera

Milan Kundera is a Czech and French writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke.

Kundera has written in both Czech and French. He revises the French translations of all his books; these therefore are not conside...more

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“When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.” — 1,804 people liked it

“Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than fear of falling. It is the voice of the emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves.” — 1,251 people liked it

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