The Unbearable Lightness of Being Summary
Milan Kundera

Biography EssayMilan Kundera is one of the few Czech writers who have achieved wide international recognition. In his native Czechoslovakia, Kundera has been regarded as an important author and intell... Read more

Milan Kundera was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1929. "I was born on the first of April. That has its metaphysical significance." fn:1 Antonin J. Liehm, The Politics of Culture, translated by peter ... Read more

Critical Essay by Tom Lippi Set in his native Czechoslovakia, in the aftermath of the "Prague Spring" of 1968, Milan Kundera's latest novel recounts the experiences of two couples... Read more

Critical Essay by Ian Mcewan From the beginning of Milan Kundera's writing career—and even in his early short stories—he has been addressing the problem of how, in [Virginia] Wool... Read more

Below, Bayley explains the meaning and use of "kitsch" in the context of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. There is always comedy in the ways in which we are impressed by a novel. It ca... Read more

In the following essay, Hans analyzes Kundera's conception of beauty and shame in The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Milan Kundera's novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being provides a se... Read more

In the following essay, Scarpetta examines the musical structure and dominant thematic motifs in The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Composition Milan Kundera's novel opens on an abstract reflec... Read more

In the following essay, von Morstein examines Kundera's interpretation of existential experience and Nietzsche's philosophical concept of “eternal return” in The Unbearable... Read more

In the following essay, Pichova examines the role of the narrator in The Unbearable Lightness of Being as active character, omniscient observer, and interloper whose manipulations allude to the psycho... Read more

In the following essay, Pichova and Rhine examine the metaphorical and political significance of the Oedipus myth in The Unbearable Lightness of Being. According to the critics, Kundera invokes Sophoc... Read more

In the following review, DePietro discusses the portrayal of totalitarianism in contemporary world literature and Kundera's political and philosophical concerns in The Unbearable Lightness of B... Read more

In the following review, Hawtree offers a favorable assessment of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Behind this most off-putting of titles there is a novel that, problematic and even irritating as it... Read more

In the following review, Howard describes The Unbearable Lightness of Being as a “superb novel, an important work of fiction.” In the first sentence of The Unbearable Lightness of Being,... Read more

In the following essay, Bayley examines the dialectical structure, moral and political themes, and narrative strategy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Like most novelists of the present time Kund... Read more