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VIENNA, Nov 14, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Czech author Milan Kundera is finally set to release his famed novel, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," in his native land after 22 years.
Kundera's most famous book was originally published in French in 1984, but was banned by the communist government in what was then Czechoslovakia, and it took more than two decades for his fellow Czechs to be able to read it in their native language, The Times of London reported.
The author's literary agent, Jiri Srstka, said the delay in the translated work's release was due mainly to his client's meticulous nature, but had nothing to do with Kundera's rumored animosity to his homeland.
"This idea that Milan did not want to publish the book in Czech because of some animosity towards the country is widely spread here, but it's also an absolute nonsense, as he told me himself many times," said Srstka. "He worked on the text continuously and amended each French edition for Gallimard (the publisher)."
The Times said the book, made into a 1988 U.S. film of the same name, will be distributed by the Czech publishing house, Atlantis.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
