The Joke: The Definitive Version Fully Revised by the Author (1992), Kundera's first novel, was originally published in 1967, after several years' delay by the censors. It concerns a young man who, as a result of a humorous post-card sent to his girlfriend, is chastised by the Communist government for expressing rebellious sentiments. >

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1981), by Milan Kundera, concerns fictional characters in the context of real historical events which took place in Czechoslovakia under Russian occupation. Kunera's citizenship as a Czech was taken away from him upon publication of this novel.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being(1984), by Milan Kundera, focuses on two couples in the context of the Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia. It was made into a movie in 1986.

Slowness (1996), by Milan Kundera, was Kundera's first novel originally written in the French language. It focuses on three separate...