40th anniversary edition of the bestselling modern classic: Milan Kundera s iconic novel of love and politics in communist Czechoslovakia. Shamelessly clever ... Exhilaratingly subversive and funny. Independent A modern classic ... As relevant now as when it was first published. John Banville A young woman is in love with a successful surgeon: a man torn between his love for her and his womanising. His mistress, a free-spirited artist, lives her life as a series of betrayals, while her other lover stands to lose everything because of his noble qualities. In a world where lives are shaped by choices and events, and everything occurs but once, existence seems to lose its substance and weight - and we feel the unbearable lightness of being . Kundera s classic provoked a whole generation, encompassing passion and philosophy, body and soul, the Prague Spring and modern America, political acts and private desires, comedy and tragedy - in fact, all of human existence. What readers are saying: Some books change your mind, some change your heart, the very best change your whole world ... A mighty piece of work, that will shape your life forever. One of the best books I ve ever read ... A book about love and life, full of surprises. Beautiful. This book is going to change your life ... It definitely leaves you with a hangover after you re done reading. Kundera writes about love as if in a trance so the beauty of it is enchanting and dreamy ... Will stay with you.
