The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Czech and French novelist, 1929–2023.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera, translated from Czech.
On 2 of the 11 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Milan Kundera
- First published
- 1984
- Length
- 320 pages (UK paperback)
- Original language
- Translated from Czech
- Genre
- Literary fiction, Philosophical, Political, Love story
Is The Unbearable Lightness of Being worth reading?
2 of the 11 best-of lists it could have made include it: 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph) and Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009) | No. 47 | See the list |
| Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 73 | See the list |
Best edition of The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The edition we link to is the Faber & Faber paperback (2000), 320 pages, translated by Michael Henry Heim.
- Publisher
- Faber & Faber (paperback, 2000)
- Pages
- 320
- Translator
- Michael Henry Heim
- ISBN
- 9780571135394
How critics and readers rate The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Critics and readers rate it about equally: it earned 19% on critics' lists and 15% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like The Unbearable Lightness of Being
If you liked The Unbearable Lightness of Being, try A Clockwork Orange, The Little Prince or Sophie's Choice.
