Reflections on charactersĪnother reflection I like more is related to characters creation: While I personally do not agree with it, as it seems only a way to explain infidelity in nice words, I like the structure of the explanation. Thomas is an epic womanizer, typology driven by the “desire to the endless variety of the objective female world” (in contrast with the other type – lyrical womanizer – who seeks in women themselves, their ideal).Īccording to the writer, epic womanizers as Thomas end up as curiosity collectors, without being ashamed of their behaviour, while lyrical womanizers end up being disappointed again and again by the failure of finding their ideal. For example, there is a short reflection on the psychology of men who pursue a multitude of women.
The book contains short philosophical lessons related to history, psychology, religion, characters creation, and other topics. Just as Kundera, Thomas lost his position, and his life was made unbearable by the political actions taken against him.
He is a very appreciated surgeon who is persecuted for expressing his opinions against the political regime, just as Kundera was perceived as a rebel intellectual for writing The Joke, a book that “describes life under communism with harsh cynicism and satire” (from sparknokes). Let’s start with Thomas, who is a very interesting character, and apparently, his story was inspired by Kundera’s own experiences. There are three main aspects of the book I want to touch upon: (1) the pseudo-main character Thomas, (2) the philosophical lessons sprinkled along the book, and (3) the discontinuous style of narrating the story. It is a realistic novel, capturing snapshots of day-to-day situations while focusing on the amorous relations of the characters and the influence politics has on their lives. The book tells the stories of four characters (Thomas, Tereza, Franz, and Sabina) and a dog (Karenin) during the communist regime in former Czechoslovakia.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being in a nutshell
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