The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera - Paperback
International Bestseller – Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction
“Far more than a conventional novel. It is a meditation on life, on the erotic, on the nature of men and women and love... full of telling details, truths large and small, to which just about every reader will respond.” — People
In The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera delivers a profound exploration of love, passion, and the complexities of human existence. Set against a backdrop of political turmoil, the novel follows two couples: one, a young woman captivated by a man who cannot escape his own self-destructive infidelities; the other, his mistress and her quietly devoted lover.
In a world where every action feels fleeting, each decision monumental, Kundera deftly examines the tension between lightness and weight—the paradox of living a life where everything happens only once, leaving us with the haunting sensation of life's impermanence. This exploration of love, freedom, and fate is rich with philosophical insights, emotional depth, and sharp social commentary.
A stunning blend of comedy and tragedy, The Unbearable Lightness of Being immerses readers in a world where passion intertwines with politics, and the personal meets the public in unexpected ways. An unforgettable reflection on the human condition that will resonate with readers long after the last page is turned.
Author Profile
The Franco-Czech novelist Milan Kundera (1929 - 2023) was born in Brno and lived in France, his second homeland, since 1975. He is the author of the novels The Joke, Life Is Elsewhere, Farewell Waltz, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and Immortality, and the short story collection Laughable Loves--all originally in Czech. His later novels, Slowness, Identity, Ignorance, and The Festival of Insignificance, as well as his nonfiction works, The Art of the Novel, Testaments Betrayed, The Curtain, and Encounter, were originally written in French.
Critic Reviews
"Kundera has raised the novel of ideas to a new level of dreamlike lyricism and emotional intensity." -- Jim Miller, Newsweek
"Kundera is a virtuoso . . . A work of the boldest mastery, originality, and richness." -- Elizabeth Hardwick, Vanity Fair
"Brilliant . . . A work of high modernist playfulness and deep pathos." -- Janet Malcolm, New York Review of Books
"With cunning wit, and elegiac sadness, Milan Kundera, the celebrated Czechoslovak emigre writer, expresses the trap the world has become." -- New York Times Book Review
"Far more than a conventional novel. It is a meditation on life, on the erotic, on the nature of men and women and love . . . full of telling details, truths large and small, to which just about every reader will respond." -- People
"Encyclopaedic and epigrammatic, profound and playful, Kundera explores the intersection of the sublime and the ridiculous to give us an important chapter in the moral history of our time." -- Judges' citation, 1984 Los Angeles Times Book Prize
"The Unbearable Lightness of Being is both a love story and a novel of ideas. . . . Witty, seductive, serious . . . also full of feeling and enormously experienced in the tricky interplay of sex and politics. . . . One of the finest and most consistently interesting novelists in Europe or America, [Kundera] has a powerful tale to tell." -- Washington Post Book World
"A work of large scale and complexity, symphonically arranged. . . Political and philosophical, erotic and spiritual, funny and profound . . . There is no wiser observer now writing of the multifarious relations of men and women. . . . Kundera's intelligence is both speculative and playful. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is his best novel yet." -- Wall Street Journal
"I return to the book again and again. Teacher, touchstone, style guide." -- Taiye Selasi
"Kundera invents his own style. This novel achieves the most incredible literary fusion, blending myth, love story, musical score and political reflection. And it's this liberty that creates a reading experience that is at once intellectual and sensual. . . . I read it every year and I always find something different. It's an unclassifiable book: part novel, part treatise on philosophy and music, part essay. I don't think a lifetime will be enough to unravel its mystery." -- Leïla SlimaniProduct Details
ISBN: 9780060932138
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: July 05, 2005
Pages: 320
Country of Origin:
Age Group:
Dimensions (CM): L20.62W13.67H1.93
Weight (KG): 0.28