Summarizing the plot succinctly is a challenge because it’s
a bit convoluted. The story of several interrelated characters is set in
Czechoslovakia in the 1960’s. Tomas is a divorced man and a serial womanizer
who suddenly falls in love with Tereza, a woman who visits him in the Prague
shortly after they meet for the first time. Tereza becomes ill, and Tomas
nurses her back to health and develops the kind of connection with her that he
normally avoids with his frequent female conquests. Their relationship is
rocky, mainly due to Tomas’ continued casual dalliances with a lot of other women.
One of those women is Sabina, who serves as the sole
connection between one set of characters and the other. Sabina is an artist
who, in addition to her trysts with Tomas, is also having an affair with Franz,
a married man living in Geneva, where Sabina moves when Russia takes over
Czechoslovakia in order to preserve her artistic freedom. Franz is in love with
Sabina and is even willing to leave his wife for her, but Sabina prefers to
remain a free spirit.
Confused yet? This story of interconnected relationships
takes place against a fascinating historical backdrop as Russia invades
Czechoslovakia, and its residents try to find a way to live their lives amidst
drastic changes in politics, work, and culture. The action moves from
Czechoslovakia to Switzerland to France and back again. And against all of
those political and personal goings-on, the author muses on deep philosophical
issues, like the meaning of life, the effects of choices and fortuitous events,
and what love really means.
My book group had some very mixed reactions to the novel.
Some really hated it and didn’t finish it, many found it confusing, and a few
of us stuck with it and enjoyed it, despite its difficulties. We wondered
whether the translation affected the clarity of the writing or whether it was
entirely the consequence of the author’s philosophical musings. Sometimes, the
author even departs from the story-telling to talk directly to the reader. To
give you an example of the author’s style, this is the opening
sentence/paragraph of the novel:
“The idea of eternal return is a mysterious one, and
Nietzsche has often perplexed other philosophers with it: to think that
everything recurs as we once experienced it, and that the recurrence itself
recurs ad infinitum! What does this mad myth signify?”
I read that passage aloud to my husband, as I was starting
the book on the first day of a family vacation and said, “uh-oh.” It’s not
exactly beach reading.
But if you like thoughtful and thought-provoking novels,
then there is some pay-off here if you stick with it. I ended up tagging many
pages with quotes that I wanted to write down. For instance, in one passage
toward the end, Tereza is musing about the nature of love and how the
completely selfless love for a pet differs from love between two humans:
“…Perhaps all the questions we ask of love, to measure,
test, probe, and save it, have the additional effect of cutting it short.
Perhaps the reason we are unable to love is that we yearn to be loved, that is,
we demand something (love) from our partner instead of delivering ourselves up
to him demand-free and asking for nothing but his company.”
That passage really made me think about all the expectations
and demands I place on those I care for most deeply.
I wasn’t thrilled with all of the cheating male characters
in the novel and struggled a bit to wade through some of the complicated prose
(sometimes you just read a sentence and think, “huh?”), but ultimately, I am
glad I stuck with it and read it. We certainly had a lot to talk about (for those who had finished the book anyway!) Now, I am curious to watch the movie again because
I don’t remember it very well. I am interested to hear what others thought
about this highly regarded modern classic.
314 pages, Perennial Library
