By Laura

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

By Milan Kundera

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is set during the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s. It follows the life of several characters. When I was investigating reviews of this book, I came upon a review on Amazon.com. The reviewer wrote: "This is either a book of philosophy masquerading as a novel, or a novel about the lives of four or five characters with pretensions to be a book of philosophy." Initially I thought this was a great way to describe the book. But the more I thought about the statement the more I was annoyed. Why does the book have to fit in either of the categories? It is a philosophical text and a novel as well as being many other things.

In the book, Kundera brings up again and again the dichotomy between heavy and light. This same dichotomy is reflected in his statement on one of the last pages of the novel: "And therein lies the whole of man's plight. Human time does not turn in a circle; it runs ahead in a straight line. That is why man cannot be happy: happiness is the longing for repetition." As a person lives her life, she doesn't get to write an alternative story. She can't compare it to anything. History is the same as a person's life, it doesn't repeat and it can't be compared to anything or written alternatively.

Kundera seems to be saying that only never-ending repetition lets one survive meaninglessness but then says that survival is impossible because never-ending repetition doesn’t happen. It's a exquisite examination of nihilism. The book left me wondering about life and whether it is difficult because it's heavy or because its lightness and capriciousness don't leave an impact.

It's interesting to compare Kundera's thoughts to Nietzsche (one of our favorite philosophers). I would say that Nietzsche would agree with Kundera's statement about happiness being the longing for repetition. But that's where their thoughts diverge. Kundera doesn't think life repeats.

Kundera does, however, echo Nietzsche's ideas of fate. He gives examples with signs and coincidences, dreams and intuitions.

Bob Corbett sites the following excerpt from Nietzsche's The Gay Science to demonstrate the idea that Kundera refutes in The Unbearable Lightness of Being. From The Gay Science:

The Greatest Burden. What would happen if one day or night a demon were to steel upon you in your loneliest loneliness and said to you: “This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence—even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself. The eternal sand-glass of existence is turned upside down again and again, and you with it, speck of dust!” Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: “You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.” If this thought gained possession of you, it would change you as you are or perhaps crush you. The question in each and every thing, “Do you desire this once more, and innumerable times more?” would lie upon your actions as the greatest weight. Or how well disposed would you have to become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?"

I'm not sure how much I agree with Kundera's premise, but his beautifully written exploration of nihilism and his critique of Nietzsche were fascinating. I highly recommend the book.