"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera

An audio book. I read this years ago, and remember liking it.

Tomas (his 3rd person PoV), 33, a brain surgeon living in Prague, reads Nietzsche, and wonders about his idea of eternal return. If we only live once, we have nothing to compare with when we make decisions. If life endlessly repeats, it's heavy. But also "einmal ist keimal". He's been married and has a son. He's decided not to see them again. Teresa suddenly appears in his life. They live like a married couple though he keeps sex-only lovers. She becomes a photographer. When the Russians invade, she takes photographs which end up being more useful to the Russians than the Czechs. They leave for Switzerland. She returns to Prague without warning. They've been together 7 years. He feels light again. Then he returns to Prague.

The author explains that the characters were born from phrases, not flesh. We learn about Teresa's family, the amazing coincidences that led to their meeting. Coincidences aren't what distinguish novels from real life, we're told. Sabina, Tomas's long-lasting lover, an artist, helped her become a photographer. They took nude photos of each other.

Teresa thinks that Tomas left her because she was too serious, treating body and mind as a unit. She tries sleeping with another man just for sex. It turns out to be a trap so that she can be blackmailed into being an informer. Tomas refuses to retract a published article and is effectively sacked. He becomes a window cleaner, enjoying the "blissful indifference" of the work. He's had 100s of lovers, The new job gives him access to many more. He seeks in them the tiny detail that makes then different to any other woman. His son (who he's never spoken to) turns up with an editor asking him to sign a manifesto. He refuses.

Franz (a married man with a grown daughter and a wife who threatened to kill herself if he left her) and Sabina are together. Then he goes with a student. He goes to Cambodia, is mugged, and dies back in Europe

Teresa and Tomas live in a farmer's cottage. Their dog is Carenin, who dies - the saddest part of the book. Teresa apologies to Tomas for causing him so many problems - "but haven't you noticed I'm happy?" he replies. He discovers that his son (Simon, for sake of argument) broke contact with his staunch communist mother, deciding that religion is the way out.

There's some meta-writing - when a character does something strange the narrator says "I can only suggest ..." Later, he says "Now we are in a better position to understand..."