"Early in the novel that Tereza clutched under her arm when she went to visit Tomas, Anna meets Vronsky in curious circumstances: they are at the railway station when someone is run over by a train. At the end of the novel, Anna throws herself under a train. This symmetrical composition - the same motif appears at the beginning and at the end - may seem quite 'novelistic' to you, and I am willing to agree, but only on condition that you refrain from reading such notions as 'fictive', 'fabricated', and 'untrue to life' into the word 'novelistic'. Because human lives are composed in precisely such a fashion.
"They are composed like music. Guided by his sense of beauty, an individual transforms a fortuitous occurrence (Bethoven's music, death under a train) into a motif, which then assumes a permanent place in the composition of the individual's life. Anna could have chosen another way to take her life. But the motif of death and railway station, unforgettably bound to the birth of love, enticed her in her hour of despair with its dark beauty. Without realizing it, the individual composes his life according to the laws of beauty even in times of greatest distress.
"It is wrong, then, to chide the novel for being fascinated by mysterious coincidences (like the meeting of Anna, Vronsk, the railway station, and death or the meeting of Beethoven, Tomas, Tereza, and the cognac), but it is right to chide man for being blind to such coincidences in his daily life. For he thereby deprives his life of a dimension of beauty."
- From The Unbearable Lightness of Being, p. 51
I have decided to become more serious and disciplined in my reading habits, and it is with this (shaky) resolution that I have put aside other books and focused on Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
If the above quotation and the one in the previous post sound somewhat profound, the rest of the book pretty much teems with such contemplative descriptions on life and other matters of the human soul. This is also what makes the book readable in my opinion, because the author is able to lend insight into the human condition through his deft prose. The way the writing flows from one short episode (around 2 pages) to the next, resonates with the title of the book and the suject matter. Perhaps because of this, it feels like I am always able to make quick progress when reading the book. Sometimes I will linger a little longer at a certain page or a certain paragraph, peruse it again and ponder its meaning. Which is good because I don't want to just read a book that I can gloss over and finish in no time. A good read should be one which we find resonance in the subject matter and which provides insight into issues that are of interest. If it is able to make you want to read it again (and even again), then there's a chance, by your standard, that it's a darn good book.
My earlier self-imposed warning proved to be hopelessly ineffective, as no sooner had I reminded myself not to step into Kinokuniya than I broke it knowingly. And I shall add that I went to my favourite bookstore with every intention to browse the books, hopefully chance upon a good read and buy it. This, despite that I already have many books that hardly look like I am going to finish reading anytime soon.
But, just as an inveterate shopaholic would be out shopping for more things after her last purchase - because he finds shopping immensely satisfying, therapeutic, rewarding etc - the passionate reader cum book-lover would likewise be susceptible to the irresistible allure of a well-stocked bookstore. In fact, the voracious reader is likely to exhibit good old-fashioned loyalty to his preferred bookstore and would not think twice about picking up something he fancies. Unlike most other shopping purchases which are likely to be goods that will wear out or become out of vogue, hence requiring repeated purchases, books, even when they yellow and tatter, remain a prized possession of its owner.
The impecunious student unfortunately does not enjoy the privilege of being able to buy whatever book he fancies or buy books as frequently as he would like to. To be able to buy the occasional book that he has been eyeing for a long time, it is likely that he would need to possess desirable traits such as prudence. He needs to scrimp on other sinful mortal pursuits like fine dinning, buying handsome clothing and those endlessly improving technology gadgets that are likely to cost him an arm or a limb, and watching movies whose ticket prices have become obscenely exorbitant of late.
It doesn't help that it is difficult if not impossible to judge the price (different from value) of a book and measure its worth. Somehow, publishers seem to have succeeded in increasing the prices of books without raising a public outcry. (I can't verify this but it seems to me that nowadays, many books seem to cost more than what they would cost not too long ago.)
Now, enough of this. I've got to head down to Kinokuniya to grab the books that I saw yesterday. No, it wasn't hesistation that explains why I didn't buy them. It was the 20% discount Kino coupons which I remembered seeing in the Straits Times but had forgotten to cut them out.
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