Milan Kundera's Liberating Exile

Milan Kundera's leaving his native Czechoslovakia was directly related to the constraints under which he had to live in the aftermath of the Soviet-led invasion of the country in August 1968. Yet the way he defined his exile in France, where he settled in 1975 and spent the second half of his life, departs from the political circumstances and the role commonly associated with political exile. This essay explores Kundera's understanding of a "liberating exile." It then looks at the significance of Kundera's choice of France as a destination for his exile. Finally, it addresses questions about the famous exile's non-return to his country of origin after the fall of communism in 1989.