Milan Kundera, author of ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being,’ dies at 94

Milan Kundera, the reclusive Czech-French writer known for “The Unbearable Lightness of Being, died Tuesday. File Photo by EPA-EFE

July 12 (UPI) — Czech-French author Milan Kundera has died.

The reclusive writer, best known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being, died Tuesday in Paris at age 94, the Moravian Library in Brno, Czech Republic announced in a statement.

“Milan Kundera, a Czech-French author who is among the world’s most translated authors, died on July 11, 2023 in his Paris apartment,” the library said.

Jindra Pavelková, a representative for the Moravian Library, also confirmed Kundera’s death to Variety.

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

Kundera was born in Brno in 1929. His first book, The Joke, was published in 1967 during a period of liberalization and mass protest in socialist Czechoslovakia known as the Prague Spring.

Following a Soviet invasion in 1968, Kundera’s books were banned and removed from libraries due to his criticism of the regime. The author emigrated to France in 1975 and was subsequently stripped of his Czechoslovak citizenship. He became a French citizen in 1981.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which explores the Prague Spring and its aftermath, was published in 1984. The book was adapted as a 1988 film directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin.

Kundera’s other works include Life is Elsewhere, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting and The Festival of Insignificance.

Milan Kundera

Author Milan Kundera poses for a photo in Madrid, Spain, on May 2, 2005. The reclusive writer, best known for “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” died at the age of 94 on July 11. Photo by EPA-EFE