Translated from the Czech Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí, copyright © 1984 by Milan Kundera. This English translation copyright © Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1984. First published in Great Britain in 1984 by Faber and Faber Limited, Queen Square, London. This paperback edition first published in 1985. Printed in England by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc. A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.