Promotional Information

The bestselling masterpiece of love and exile in Prague by the author of modern classic The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

About the Author

Milan Kundera, born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, was a student when the Czech Communist regime was established in 1948, and later worked as a labourer, jazz musician and professor at the Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies in Prague. After the Russian invasion in August 1968, his books were proscribed. In 1975, he and his wife settled in France, and in 1981, he became a French citizen. He is the author of the novels The Joke, Life is Elsewhere, Farewell Waltz, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and Immortality, and of the short-story collection Laughable Loves - all originally in Czech. His most recent novels, Slowness, Identity and Ignorance, as well as his non-fiction works The Art of the Novel and Testaments Betrayed, were originally written in French.

Reviews

"[A] beautifully written tale of desire and loss."--Newark Star Ledger

"A tour de force."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"An entertaining and thought-provoking work"--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"By far his most successful [novel] since THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Elegant ... the emotional and intellectual payoff is extraordinary."--Time Out New York

"Erudite and playful...An impassioned account of the ?migr? as a character on the stage of European history."--Maureen Howard, New York Times Book Review

"Kundera is and elegant writer ... He does a masterful job of reminding that the political is the personal."--Rocky Mountain News

"Kundera once more delivers a seductive, intelligent entertainment ... [with] elegance and grace."--Washington Post Book World

"Literary excellence ... [Kundera's] irony and wit are ...on target, his characters vivid and convincing."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Milan's Kundera's resonant new novel IGNORANCE ....[is] wonderfully nuanced .... affecting."--Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

"Moving ... There is a painful injustice and inequality to memory, which these encounters beautifully illustrate."--Boston Globe

"Nothing short of masterful."--Newsweek

"Precise and spare ...page by page this novel is dazzling."--Montreal Gazette

"Rendered with compassion and humor."--Library Journal

"A tour de force." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"An entertaining and thought-provoking work" -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Elegant . the emotional and intellectual payoff is extraordinary." -- Time Out New York

"Kundera is and elegant writer . He does a masterful job of reminding that the political is the personal." -- Rocky Mountain News

"Literary excellence . [Kundera's] irony and wit are .on target, his characters vivid and convincing." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Moving . There is a painful injustice and inequality to memory, which these encounters beautifully illustrate." -- Boston Globe

"Nothing short of masterful." -- Newsweek

"Precise and spare .page by page this novel is dazzling." -- Montreal Gazette

"Rendered with compassion and humor." -- Library Journal

Kundera's current language is French, but his sensibility remains in Prague, where this story is set. Former lovers return home to a newly liberated country and try to pick up the pieces. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

"[A] beautifully written tale of desire and loss."--Newark Star Ledger
"A tour de force."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"An entertaining and thought-provoking work"--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"By far his most successful [novel] since THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING."--Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Elegant ... the emotional and intellectual payoff is extraordinary."--Time Out New York
"Erudite and playful...An impassioned account of the ?migr? as a character on the stage of European history."--Maureen Howard, New York Times Book Review
"Kundera is and elegant writer ... He does a masterful job of reminding that the political is the personal."--Rocky Mountain News
"Kundera once more delivers a seductive, intelligent entertainment ... [with] elegance and grace."--Washington Post Book World
"Literary excellence ... [Kundera's] irony and wit are ...on target, his characters vivid and convincing."--Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Milan's Kundera's resonant new novel IGNORANCE ....[is] wonderfully nuanced .... affecting."--Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
"Moving ... There is a painful injustice and inequality to memory, which these encounters beautifully illustrate."--Boston Globe
"Nothing short of masterful."--Newsweek
"Precise and spare ...page by page this novel is dazzling."--Montreal Gazette
"Rendered with compassion and humor."--Library Journal
"A tour de force." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"An entertaining and thought-provoking work" -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Elegant . the emotional and intellectual payoff is extraordinary." -- Time Out New York
"Kundera is and elegant writer . He does a masterful job of reminding that the political is the personal." -- Rocky Mountain News
"Literary excellence . [Kundera's] irony and wit are .on target, his characters vivid and convincing." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Moving . There is a painful injustice and inequality to memory, which these encounters beautifully illustrate." -- Boston Globe
"Nothing short of masterful." -- Newsweek
"Precise and spare .page by page this novel is dazzling." -- Montreal Gazette
"Rendered with compassion and humor." -- Library Journal