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| Plot Summary of The Unbearable Lightness of Being |
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"This rich and beautiful book, using an ostensible plot about two couples -- Tomas and Tereza, and Sabina and Franz -- in Czechoslovakia during the 1960s, addresses issues of love, sex, friendship, art, kitsch, political responsibilities, and life and death. Tomas is a physician whose fear of women drives him through an endless series of affairs, even after he falls in love with and marries Tereza. Sabina, a free spirit who often sleeps with Tomas, has a "heavier" male partner in Franz as well. Their emotions and activities play out against the Communist dictatorship and Prague Spring, into which Tomas is reluctantly drawn. The narrator sometimes addresses the reader directly about his characters, issues of morality (even as they apply to animals), and other philosophical issues, but not in any obtrusive manner. Much richer and more lovely than the decent movie based upon it."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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"Tomas, a womanizer, falls in love with Tereza but is unable to abandon his erotic friendships, especially with Sabina. In the midst of the Czech Revolution, Tomas and Tereza long for idyllic country life and struggle with the ephemerality of their own lives in the face of their paranoia and the oppressive government. "
Jessica Marler, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Unbearable Lightness of Being |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1960's-1970's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- love triangle/polygon
Political/social activism
Yes
Plotlet:
- surviving repressive dictatorship
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- nature of existence (heavy philosophy)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- doctor
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
- obsessed
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Eastern European
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
- an organization
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- government investigator
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
- a substantial amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 (a little)
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Eastern Europe
City?
Yes
City:
- dirty, grimy (like New York)
Misc setting
- moving train
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- actual description of hetero sex
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- No single main character?
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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