Milan Kundera

Milan Kundera was born to Ludvík and Bohumila Kundera in Brno, Czechoslovakia, into a musical family.

Kundera begins his studies in literature, aesthetics, and musical theory at Charles University in Prague, but is expelled after one year.

Kundera enrolls at the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where he later becomes a lecturer.

Kundera's first collection of poetry, 'Man: A Broad Garden,' is published, marking his entry into the literary world.

Kundera marries Věra Skřivánková, a fellow intellectual and his lifelong partner.

Kundera publishes 'The Joke,' his first novel, which becomes a critical success and is later banned in Czechoslovakia.

Kundera is appointed professor of world literature at the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

Following political persecution, Kundera and his wife move to France, where he continues his literary career.

Kundera publishes 'The Book of Laughter and Forgetting,' a novel that explores themes of memory and forgetting.

Kundera's most famous novel, 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being,' is published and becomes an international bestseller.

Kundera acquires French citizenship, solidifying his status as a French-Czech novelist.

Kundera publishes 'Immortality,' a novel that delves into the nature of fame and the afterlife.

Kundera largely withdraws from public life, focusing on his writing and maintaining a low profile.

Kundera publishes 'The Festival of Insignificance,' his last novel to date, which reflects on the triviality of modern life.

Kundera continues to live in France, where he remains a respected and influential figure in world literature.