The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

“In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine.”

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Arguably the most beautiful, and true, opening line in all of literature.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera is my favorite book, and everything about it is almost unbearably beautiful, to me.

Eternal return. Lightness and weight. Love and lust. The soul and the body. The personal and the political. Home. Identity. Art. Betrayal. Control. Beauty. Existence. 

The palimpsest of history.

Kundera weaves a tale of juxtapositions. At times it seems like a book of opposites, but it is all about the greys.

I’ve read this novel many times, and have gifted it even more. I’ve returned to it again and again, and I imagine I will do so many times more throughout my life.

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What is your favorite book? I know it’s kind of a dreadful question, but if you really had to whittle it down to ✨the one✨—your book soulmate, who would it be?

💫 Or tell me, what is your favorite opening line? 🖤