Czech writer Milan Kundera, author of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," passed away in Paris at the age of 94 after living there for over five decades. The Moravia Library, which holds Kundera's private collection, announced that he died in his Paris apartment on Tuesday after a long illness. Kundera received awards for his style in depicting the themes he addressed in his novels and the way he portrayed characters that varied between the mundane reality of everyday life and the realm of lofty ideas. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated that "Milan Kundera was a writer who touched entire generations of readers across all continents and gained global fame. He left behind a distinctive body of prose, not just outstanding novels."
Kundera was born in Brno, Czech Republic, but emigrated to France in 1975 after facing persecution for criticizing the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia aimed at suppressing a liberal reform movement known as the Prague Spring in 1968. He rarely granted interviews, believing that writers should speak through their works, yet his relationship with his homeland remained difficult after his departure.
Kundera's first novel, "The Joke," was published in 1967 and contained a scathing portrayal of the ruling communist regime in Czechoslovakia and the party that was still its member at the time. His most famous work, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," published in 1984, revolved around the Prague Spring and the events that followed. The novel was later adapted into a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis, directed by Philip Kaufman in 1988, which won two Oscars. Kundera obtained Czech citizenship in 2019.
