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The Unbearable Lightness of Being
- Narrated by: Richmond Hoxie
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
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Summary
One of the century's most famous novels, available for the first time on audio - read by Richmond Hoxie. Milan Kundera's iconic novel of love and politics in communist Czechoslovakia is 'a dark and brilliant achievement' (Ian McEwan).
'A cult figure.' Guardian
'Shamelessly clever ... Exhilaratingly subversive and funny.' Independent
'A modern classic ... As relevant now as when it was first published. ' John Banville
A young woman is in love with a successful surgeon - a man torn between his love for her and his incorrigible womanising. His mistress, a free-spirited artist, lives her life as a series of betrayals - while her other lover stands to lose everything because of his noble qualities.
In a world where lives are shaped by irrevocable choices and fortuitous events, and everything occurs but once, existence seems to lose its substance and weight - and we feel 'the unbearable lightness of being'.
A masterpiece by one of the world's truly great writers, Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being encompasses passion and philosophy, infidelity and ideas, the Prague Spring and modern America, political acts and private desires, comedy and tragedy - and illuminates all aspects of human existence.
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What listeners say about The Unbearable Lightness of Being
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- Charlie O'Doherty, London
- 04-04-20
Blissful and brilliant
Kundera is a master of truly touching writing. Few other contemporary writers come so close. If you haven't experienced this novel, go ahead right now. You'll be swept away by its beauty.
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- woodwild
- 09-04-19
I love this book
I've read this book many times, hearing it was like reading it again for the first time, it is a great piece of writing
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4 people found this helpful
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- Alison Hallett
- 28-03-24
Interesting and reflective
This book wasn’t gripping but more a reflective and insightful book of philosophy through creation of characters and reflections on life and our ways of making what we can from it and finding meaning
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- Jason 2013
- 18-01-15
Emotional and happy memories
I read this at university and it brought back lots of memories. Great story bit of philosophy, bit of love, bit of history, and all good. Throughly enjoyed it, narrated well.
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7 people found this helpful
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- London East
- 12-01-20
Amazingly beautiful
I have no other words but to repeat that this book is amazingly beautiful. And the performance is PERFECT.
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- William
- 07-04-13
A wistful and wise sideways look at "reality"
Kundera's work is always profound. His characters face all the usual dilemmas thrown at us by life and the complex business of being "human". Some characters soar above the mundane, others are sucked down by it. Kundera never tires of throwing us the deep questions - the plot is richly drawn with a sweet and sour mixture of humour and sorrow. This is provocative philosophy wrapped in a vivid sugar coating of human endeavour and intrigue.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 17-06-20
Piece of art
Complex and profound. Philosophy, history, sex and love wrapped up in a soft honest narrative.
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- Anonymous User
- 16-07-23
Brilliant, entertaining, thought-provoking
Beautifully written, this kept me entertained and interested from start to finish. I loved how many moments throughout I found myself in deep thought over its concepts. Would definitely recommend.
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- Mayuri
- 03-10-23
Enjoyable in parts
but left feeling a little deflated Expected more insight and a lot of jumping around the point
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- Ant
- 30-07-13
Strives to be deep
There are parts of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed. There are moments of great beauty through skilful prose and a thoughtful story. However, I think you can only enjoy an opinionated book if you agree with the opinions expressed. Unfortunately, in enough of the cases to spoil it, I did not.
My other complaint is quoting the ancients to prove your point rather than illustrate it. Euclid was a truly great mind - it took us a couple of thousand years to show his work as incomplete, but eventually we moved past him.
I would go as far as to say I could possibly be a fan of the author, but not the philosopher.
I know others have found this book very deep and enjoyable - it is well written, so I am wary of putting another reader off it just because I didn't enjoy parts of it.
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37 people found this helpful