The Unbearable Lightness of BeingThe Unbearable Lightness of Being
Score Classic
What it's about
In Prague around the Soviet invasion of 1968, Milan Kundera interweaves the stories of two couples, Tomas and Tereza, and Sabina and her lover Franz, with dreams, philosophy and history. It's a sardonic and erotic novel about love, freedom and whether life is light or heavy.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the BBC's Big Read. It's one of the most famous novels of the 20th century.
You'll love it if you liked
The Joke
The Stranger
One Hundred Years of SolitudeGood to know
Kundera often interrupts the story with philosophical reflections. It's frank about sex.
By the numbers
- Readers52 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller48 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking, Moving
More by Milan Kundera
If you like this, read next
From Here to Eternity
Middlemarch
Memoirs of Hadrian
Arch of Triumph
Anna Karenina
KatherineExplore the best-of lists
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Quick answers
Is The Unbearable Lightness of Being worth reading?
Yes. It's on the BBC's Big Read. It ranks #1,555 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 67.8 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Unbearable Lightness of Being about?
In Prague around the Soviet invasion of 1968, Milan Kundera interweaves the stories of two couples, Tomas and Tereza, and Sabina and her lover Franz, with dreams, philosophy and history. It's a sardonic and erotic novel about love, freedom and whether life is light or heavy.
How long does it take to read The Unbearable Lightness of Being?
About 8 hours (305 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Unbearable Lightness of Being?
If you liked it, try The Joke by Milan Kundera, The Stranger by Albert Camus or One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.