Milan Kundera, the Czech-born writer acclaimed for his masterpiece The Unbearable Lightness of Being, died at the age of 94 in his Paris apartment, according to the Moravian Library (MZK).

Kundera, who spent nearly five decades in the City of Lights, succumbed to a prolonged illness on July 11, 2023,  leaving behind a literary legacy that captivated readers worldwide.

Known for his ability to intertwine everyday reality with profound ideas, Kundera received widespread acclaim for his works, which resonated with readers across generations and continents.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala hailed Kundera as a writer of global fame, noting his profound influence on literature.

Fiala acknowledged Kundera's significant contributions to both fiction and essays, underscoring his far-reaching impact.

Born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, Kundera faced ostracisation after criticising the Soviet invasion during the Prague Spring of 1968, which aimed to suppress the liberal reform movement.

In 1975, he sought refuge in France, a decision prompted by the political climate in his homeland.

Despite his departure, Kundera's relationship with Czechoslovakia remained fraught with difficulties throughout his life.

In 1967, Kundera published his first novel, The Joke, a scathing critique of the Czechoslovak Communist regime, to which he was still affiliated.

Growing disillusioned with the party's inability to reform, he relocated to France in 1975. Subsequently, in 1979, Kundera was stripped of his Czechoslovak citizenship. Although he resisted categorising his works as political, Kundera's novels often bore political undertones.

One of his notable works, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1979), narrated in seven parts, vividly exposed the power of totalitarian regimes to manipulate history and forge alternate narratives.

However, it was his magnum opus, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), that propelled Kundera to international acclaim.

Centered around the events of the Prague Spring and its aftermath, the novel explored themes of love, fate, and existentialism.

The book's success led to its adaptation into a 1988 film directed by Philip Kaufman and featuring Daniel Day-Lewis, garnering two Academy Award nominations.

After years of living abroad, Milan Kundera's ties to his homeland were partially restored in 2019 when he became a citizen of the newly formed Czech Republic.

Despite his sparse interviews, Milan Kundera firmly believed that a writer's voice should resonate through their work, allowing his literary contributions to speak volumes about his beliefs and experiences.

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