From the Bookshelf of Reading 1001…

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Milan Kundera

Start date: December 1, 2009

Finish date: December 31, 2009

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Jan 31, 2019 Celia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-read, 1001-challenge, reading-the-wrld, ten-year-challenge, well-read-world-lit, reading-the-world-read, translated, book-in-book

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera, about two women, two men, a dog and their lives in the 1968 Prague Spring period of Czechoslovak history. It has been termed a political novel and also a 'novel of ideas'.

Divided into 7 sections, Kundera first introduces the reader to lightness and weight. He is comparing a meaningless life (lightness) to a meaningful life (weight).

First we meet Tomas, a surgeon living in Prague. He had been married and had a son. When his marr ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2021 Pamela rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: guardian-1000-read, boxall-1001-read

I’d put off reading this book for a long time as I’d been told it was full of long philosophical discourses and political arguments, and although I enjoy the occasional intellectual challenge, I read mainly for entertainment these days. Actually, I found it handles its themes very lightly, and was much more entertaining than I’d expected.

At the root of the novel is a conflicted love affair between philandering doctor Tomas and his second wife Tereza. This love is seen in contrasts - body/soul, l ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 25, 2025 Charlotte rated it liked it

Shelves: audio

The book is truly a work of art, and I could also give it four stars, but it made me exceedingly uncomfortable throughout. I couldn’t find sympathy with any of the characters, yet I could not put the book down and wanted to finish it. There is something unique in the way that Milan Kundera from his exile point of view depicts people, relationships, belonging, unfaithfulness, countries in a sharp and desperate manner.

Like · see review