Milan Kundera dies aged 94 in his France apartment

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Jul 2023 16:45
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Renowned writer Milan Kundera was best known for his book "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" published in 1984.

Czech writer Milan Kundera poses in a garden in Prague in October 1973. (AFP)

The author of the novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," Czech-born writer Milan Kundera died at 94 years of age.

Kundera lived over five decades in France, where he passed away on Tuesday, following a long struggle with the illness according to the Moravian Library (MZK).

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said "Milan Kundera was a writer who reached whole generations of readers across all continents and achieved global fame," adding that "He leaves behind not only notable fiction but also significant essay work."

The renowned writer emigrated to Frace in 1975 after he was criticized for his satirical work targeting the Soviet Union during liberalization protests in Czechoslovakia in 1968, which became known as the Prague Spring.

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (1984), Kundera's most famous book was centered on the Prague Spring and its aftermath as it followed Tomáš and Tereza, a couple living through the 1968 political turmoil of the Prague Spring. The renowned book covered the events of their mundane life and great ideas navigated through a reality seen across the Nietzschean metaphysics lens.

Later, in 1988, the book was turned into a movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis under the direction of Philip Kaufman. The movie landed two Academy Award nominations at the time.

His first book, "The Joke" was published in 1967 and in 197, he left for France; four years later, he lost his Czechoslovak citizenship.

In 2019, Kundera was given Czech citizenship.