In his novels, the Czech-born author Milan Kundera (born 1929) sought to discover the answer to the question: What is the nature of existence"

Milan Kundera was one of the most important and talented novelists to emerge from the death throes of the old Communist regimes in Eastern Europe. However, his novels are not merely political tracts but attempts to discover possible meanings for the existential problems facing all human beings.

Born on April 1, 1929, in Brno, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), Kundera was the son of a pianist and musicologist named Ludvik and his wife, Milada (Janiskova). On September 30, 1967, he married Vera Hrabankova.

Kundera was educated in music under the direction of Paul Haas and Vaclav Kapral. Later he also attended Charles University and, in 1956, studied at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, both of which are in Prague. In 1958 he joined the Film Faculty of the latter school...