the unbearable lightness of being

i rarely re-read books. i have this notion that there are just too many good books to read in one lifetime. but still, i re-read Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being. i consider it one of my all-time favs. the book poses a lot of questions about how our lives are shaped by irrevocable choices and fortuitous events. it is a novel of ideas, a provocative look at the ways in which history impinges on individual lives, and a meditation on personal identity. the book examines the imperfect possibilities of adult love and the ways in which free choice and necessity shape our lives. "What then shall we choose?" Kundera asks at the beginning of his novel. "Weight or lightness?" i guess this novel is his attempt to answer that question. and the answer is obviously hinted at in the novel's final scene, in which Tomas and Tereza (the main characters) find themselves in a small country hotel after a rare evening of dancing. when Tomas turns on the light in their room, "a large nocturnal butterfly" rises from the bedside lamp and circles the room in which they are alone with their happiness and their sadness.

note: i recommend this book for a lot of reasons. aside from the fact that this book is brilliantly written, i agree with the author’s point of view that we are who we are, and we are where we are because of the actions we took when destiny presented itself to us. basically, we are where we ought to be because of two things…. the choices we’ve made and the chances presented to us, may it be fortuity or mere coincidence…