Okay. I just finished this book last night. I really enjoyed Kundera’s writing, I liked the shorter chapters. And there were definitely ideas/concepts I was able to digest and understand the meaning of. But I feel so confused overall. Mostly on how I actually feel about the book. I didn’t expect to cry and experience such sadness during the last few chapters because I was just so overwhelmed with frustration throughout so much of the book. And while I was deeply touched by the part about Karenin, and I was even heartbroken that once Tomas and Tereza finally found some level of happiness with each other before their ultimate demise, I was angry that there was no real resolution or consequence to Tomas for his years of extreme infidelity. He actually became happy in his last couple of years of just living in the country, without seeing other women. But Kundera didn’t go in depth about that experience for him. Maybe I have too strong of a sense of justice and wanted more. At the same time, though, it was hard to feel sorry for Tereza ultimately.
Anyways, this just briefly highlights my thoughts on it all, but I’d love to hear what others have to say on how they felt about this book. I think I expected more of a meaningful impact, something I could actually take away from it. But instead I ended the book feeling like it’s the perfect manual on how to not feel guilty regarding infidelity, and might even encourage new ideas on why infidelity should be understood/accepted. Maybe that’s me being weirdly insecure, and maybe I’m not taking enough consideration into the times and setting of the book. I just feel that there was no real payoff in this book and that the philosophical ideas could have been conveyed in a much more effective way. But please share some of your guys’ thoughts with me!
by Gremlingirlypop