Milan Kundera in 1987.
Kundera won accolades for the way he depicted themes and characters that floated between the mundane reality of everyday life and the lofty world of ideas.
“Milan Kundera was a writer who reached whole generations of readers across all continents and achieved global fame,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
The cover of Kundera’s 1984 novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being.Credit:
“He leaves behind not only notable fiction,but also significant essay work.”
Kundera was born in the Czech city of Brno but emigrated to France in 1975 after being ostracised for criticising the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia to put down the liberal reform movement of the Prague Spring in 1968.
He rarely gave interviews,believing writers should speak through their work,but his relationship with his home country was often difficult after his departure.
His first novel,The Joke,was published in 1967 and offered a scathing portrayal of the Czechoslovak Communist regime and the party he was still a member of.