While I was away I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera. Prettymuch every one of his lines is mind-blowing, but here I've picked a couple for you. Consider them an invitation if you've never read him before.
For Sabina, living in truth, lying neither to ourselves nor to others, was possible only away from the public: the moment someone keeps an eye on what we do, we involuntarily make allowances for that eye, and nothing we do is truthful. Having a public, keeping the public in mind, means living in lies. Sabina despised literature in which people give away all kinds of intimate secrets about themselves and their friends. A man who loses his privacy loses everything, Sabina thought. And a man who gives it up of his own free will is a monster. That was why Sabina did not suffer in the least from having to keep her love secret. On the contrary, only by doing so could she live in truth.
And:
In the realm of totalitarian kitsch, all answers are given in advance and preclude any questions. It follows, then, that the true opponent of totalitarian kitsch is the person who asks questions. A question is like a knife that slices through the stage backdrop and gives us a look at what lies hidden behind it. It fact, that was exactly how Sabina had explained the meaning of her paintings to Tereza: on the surface, and intelligible lie; underneath, the unintelligible truth showing through.
I'm beginning to think that all truths are unintelligible, and are, therefore, unacceptable to many people. Perhaps that's why this book appeals to me so much.
Incidentally, The Unbearable Lightness of Being revived that old, forgotten urge to throw the book across the room. It had been a while. But it's good to know I'm still alive.
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