Customer Reviews

La insoportable levedad del ser (coleccion andanzas) (Spanish Edition)

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2 star:		(1)
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I agree with the latter review. This book requires a unique perception, a deeper understanding of the of human folly--of love. I'm sure Kundera has a cult following--people who are very spiritual & intellectual. The book's about all the abstract things that make life so mysterious. You cannot read this book and simply understand the characters. You must have lived the characters. You must have an affinity with the characters. This book is about an advanced perception of life. It's cannot be put into words; either you understand ... or you don't. There is no in between.

The title alone has the potential to change one's life if you take it to heart. Thomas and Tereza are perfect examples of the struggle we all try to manage in our own lives. The inner struggles of Thomas, his perceived love of the lightness characterizes of what this addiction to relatively damaging behavior this modern society has adopted is comprised. Conversely to Tereza the lightness isn't as beloved, for she has had a littany of troubles to allow her to see the ultimate goals of the lightness as opposed to the acceptance of the weight. Society it seems is composed of these two types of people, and everything in between. Some chase the lightness tirelessly and others fight it. This book is one the bes keys to nderstanding interpersonal relationships, and I'm sure many things will become clearer to you also. On a base-level so to speak, it's a wonderful read that goes quickly and entertains thoroughly.

Kenneth Ryan

Milan Kundera takes the novel of ideas to new heights
with his novel 'The unbearable lightness of being'.
From the opening page, he starts his quest of explaining
the nature of being, is it a burden? or is it just
emptiness? It is incredible how Kundera develops a
beautiful novel, and through the eyes and feelings of
his masterfully created characters he gets his point
through, stopping ocassionaly to reflect on views and
thoughts about life, and our attitude towards deception,
happiness, and everything inbetween. An erotic, funny,
and entertaining work that teaches us about ourselves,
a true example that the genre of a novel has not died.

Muchos opinan que esta es una novela política, tal vez lo sea por desarrollarse la historia en Checoslovaquia y vivir la invasión soviética, pero es una novela con personajes fabulosos. Tomás es un personaje complejo que se debate entre le amor a a Teresa y el deseo irrefrenable a otras mujeres. El autor lo resume: No está obsecionado por las mujeres, está obsecionado por lo que hay en cada una de ellas inimaginable, en otras palabras, está obsesionado por esa millonésima diferencial que distingue a una mujer de las demas mujeres.
Algunas frases favoritas:
"!Qué indefenso está el hombre ante los elogios!"
"Las preguntas que no tienen respuesta son las que determinan las posibilidades del ser humano, son las que trazan las fronteras de la existencia del hombre".
O dicho de otro modo:
Y es que las preguntas verdaderamente serias son aquéllas que pueden ser formuladas hasta por un niño. Solo las preguntas más ingenuas son verdaderamente serias. Son preguntas que no tienen respuesta.
"Empece a dividir los libros en diurnos y nocturnos. De verdad que hay libros que sólo se pueden leer por la noche".

Found it hard to get into, and still felt that way more than halfway through. Didn't care a lot about the characters; disliked the author's way of jumping back and forth through time (though I don't mind the ways some authors do so). Was more touched by the dog's death than anything else!