Hard to believe it took this long, but finally after years of waiting, readers in Czechoslovakia will be able to get their hands on an official, authorized, Czech-language version of Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. According to Kundera's Czech literary agent:
I don't think that Milan Kundera was ever against the book being published in Czech officially, even after many years. Kundera's concern really rested with editing the book properly, and preparing it for publication in Czech. At first glance this doesn't appear to be a big deal, but in the case of Milan Kudnera, who is known for his perfectionism, this is a huge job. Also because the Toronto edition was published under difficult circumstances, and therefore Kundera had to read the entire book again, re-write sections, make additions, and edit the entire text. So given his perfectionism, this is was a long-term job, but now readers will get the book that Milan Kundera thinks should exist.
Too funny. Methinks the next step is a retranslation into English!
Did you ever see that Lingua Franca piece on Kundera's problems with his translators? I originally read it in Quick Studies (ed. by Alexander Star). Definitely worth a read.
Posted by: amcorrea | October 24, 2006 at 04:36 PM