The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a story of irreconcilable love and infidelities in which Milan Kundera addresses himself to the nature of twentieth-century "Being", offering a wide range of brilliant and amusing philosophical speculations. First published in 1984, Kundera's masterly novel encompasses the extremes of comedy and tragedy, and was at once hailed by critics as a contemporary classic. "Read this book; here is a writer who really matters."-(Malcolm Bradbury) "There are novels that are tragic, or entertaining, and this one is both. There are very few that give a fresh perspective on existence, and force the reader to reassess his own life and attitudes."-(Victoria Glendinning, Sunday Times) "The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a work of the boldest mastery, originality and richness."-(Vanity Fair)