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full title The Unbearable Lightness of Being
author Milan Kundera
type of work Novel
genre Love story; political novel; novel of ideas
language Czech, translated into English by Michael Henry Heim; translation supervised/approved by author
time and place written 1984, Paris
date of first publication 1984
publisher English translation: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc
narrator The author, Milan Kundera, or fictionalized version thereof
climax A different climax can be identified in each of the character's stories; for Tomas, the arguable climax is his decision to return to Prague from the free West
protagonist Tomas is main protagonist; other protagonists are Tereza, Sabina, and Franz
setting (time) Mid 1960s to early 1980s
setting (place) Prague; small town in Bohemia; Czech countryside; Switzerland; America
point of view First person narration from author Kundera's point of view; follows alternately one then another character
falling action Sabina wills body to be cremated after death, wonders if any betrayals are left in her life
tense past tense
foreshadowing constant, as author/narrator tells story non-chronologically and instead by ideas and associations
tone cynical; amused; compassionate; contemplative
symbols book; suitcase; bowler hat; stocking; signed document; tombstone
themes lightness versus weight; politics; sexuality; death; human love
motifs the body; kitsch; artwork; written texts
other Partly autobiographical text; Kundera was a leftist in youth, a silenced intellectual in Prague after 1968, and a permanent émigré settled in Paris thereafter
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