Read and Cook with Robbie Cheadle – The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and Filled Heart-Shaped Meringue Shells #bookreview #fiction #desserts

Picture caption: Cover of The Unbearable Lightness of Being featuring a bra and panties in black against a blue background

I knew when I started reading this book that it was unusual and had a big focus on extramarital affairs and womanizing, but I decided to try it anyway and see what all the fuss was about. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is set in Prague, Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968 and the subsequent Soviet invasion. The story revolves around four central characters who are all facing their own problems and difficulties with relationships. Both of the men are womanizers and unable to remain faithful to a single woman, even one they profess to love. One of the women is also unable to settle down with a partner and has a string of affairs with men, married and otherwise.

Tomas is a successful surgeon at the beginning of the book. He fears commitment and this has already led to one failed marriage. He does not have anything to do with either his ex-wife or his son. When Tereza arrives on his doorstep, huge bag by her side, he is effectively bamboozled into taking her into his home. She fascinates him and he does have feelings of great attachment for her which lead to him marrying her. He fights these feelings and continues to have his countless affairs, in particular, he has an on-going sexual relationship with Sabina, a beautiful artist. Tereza loves Tomas very much and when the Russian Invasion begins, she goes with him to Zurich where she expects him to give up his infidelities. This does not happen, and he continues to see Sabina who has immigrated to Geneva. Tereza decides to leave Zurich and return to Prague. Tomas, despite his desire for freedom, follows Tereza, knowing he will not be able to leave Prague again. His attachment to Tereza is strong but it does not result in a happy ever after due to Tomas becoming involved in a political situation that destroys his career.

Throughout, Tomas and Tereza’s relationship, Sabina has another on-going affair with Franz, a married man who lives in Geneva. Sabina and Franz don’t understand each other at all and when Franz ultimately leaves his wife to live permanently with Sabina, she disappears, leaving him alone with no-one.

The central theme of this book is the philosophical concept of eternal return which assumes that everything in life repeats itself continuously into infinity. The author, however, uses the characters in his story to dismiss the theory of eternal return while maintaining the view that it is the only path to true happiness and as each individual’s life path is a straight line, lasting happiness is not achievable.

This was not an easy read for me, and I returned to it several times in order to finish it. The philosophy is very different from my personal beliefs and while it was a worthwhile read in the long run, it is not a book that everyone will enjoy

A few quotes from The Unbearable Lightness of Being

“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.”

“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).”

“There is no means of testing which decision is better, because there is no basis for comparison. We live everything as it comes, without warning, like an actor going on cold. And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself? That is why life is always like a sketch. No, “sketch” is not quite a word, because a sketch is an outline of something, the groundwork for a picture, whereas the sketch that is our life is a sketch for nothing, an outline with no picture.”

Filled Heart-Shaped Meringue Shells (copyright Robbie Cheadle)

To go with this rather extraordinary book, I am sharing a dessert from my children’s book, Sir Chocolate and the Valentine Toffee Cupid.

Picture caption: Heart-Shaped Meringues before filling

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites at room temperature;

• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar;

• Pinch of salt;

• 1 cup castor sugar;

• Pink food colouring (liquid); and

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

What you need:

• Electric hand mixer or stand mixer;

• Baking trays;

• Wax paper cut to fit the baking trays;

• A large heart shaped cookie cutter;

• Pencil;

• Large piping bag or a strong plastic bag with the end snipped off; and

• Large star piping tip.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 120 degrees Celsius.

• Combine egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of the mixer (it must not be greased and must be clean and dry).

• Whisk the egg mixture on a low speed until the mixture becomes foamy.

• Increase the speed to high and gradually add the castor sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Allow for 20 seconds of mixing in between new additions of sugar.

• When the mixture is thick and glossy i.e. the spoon can stand up in the bowl, stir through the vanilla essence and a few drops of pink food colouring.

Instructions:

• Using a pencil, draw six heart shapes on the non-wax side of a piece of wax paper that fits inside the baking tray.

• Fit the star piping tip into the piping bag.

• Spoon the meringue mixture into the piping bag.

• Squeezing the bag, draw a thick line of meringue around the heart shape. Repeat twice to form three meringue layers, one on top of the other to form the sides of the meringue shell.

• Using the piping bag, fill in the bottom of the heart with meringue mixture.

• Pipe another layer of meringue around the sides of the heart.

• Pipe a few meringue stars to use up the last of the meringue mixture in the piping bag.

• Place the meringues in the oven and bake for 3 hours.

• Switch off the oven, and open the door half way. Leave the meringues to cool overnight.

Picture caption: Filled Heart-Shaped MeringuesFilling for the Heart-Shaped Meringues

Ingredients:

• A handful of chopped strawberries;

• A handful of chopped raspberries;

• Whipped cream; and

• Melted chocolate.

Method:

• Whip the cream and spoon a quantity into each shell. Don’t overfill.

• Add a small quantity of chopped strawberries and chopped raspberries.

• Drizzle tempered dark chocolate over the filling.

Tip:

Only fill the meringues just before serving or they will go soggy.

Sir Chocolate and the Valentine Toffee Cupid is available from Amazon US here: