My first encounter with a Kundera novel was in 1999. I had read ‘The Book of Laughter and Forgetting’ and I hated it. I dismissed it as pretentious European artsy rubbish (and in a way I still dislike books that follow that type of style) and promised I would never read him again.
And then it’s featured on the list.
So this time round, although skeptical I gave The Unbearable lightness of Being a chance and I loved it. It’s very often you manage to read a book which is philosophical , political and has romantic background.
It’s Prague , 1968 and the Russians have invaded it. From then onwards the book focuses on the relationships between six individuals (and all are products of the background they grew up in) and how they interact with each other.
In the midst of this Kundera is trying to insert his philosophies on destiny and action , something I’m still not too sure about. After all although we do have free will sometimes things crop up which do effect us.
So yes , I did enjoy reading this and it also it did make me smile. Now and then I don’t mind a bit of romance even if it is intellectualized.
The Bobsphere 