The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (1984). Kundera’s masterpiece begins during the Prague Spring of 1968, when it appeared the Soviet Union’s domination of Czechoslovakia might be weakening and ends a few years later when those hopes were dashed. It explores a range of themes, including love, attachment, duty and death, through two connected couples. The first is young woman in love with a man torn between his love for her and his incorrigible womanizing; the second is one of his mistresses and her humbly faithful lover. This magnificent novel juxtaposes geographically distant places; brilliant and playful reflections; and a variety of styles Kundera paints a vivid portrait of Czech intellectual life at the time and the eternal conflicts of the human heart.
Total Points: 10 (ABrav 10)