Growing up in Czechoslovakia, Kundera must have known he was special at a young age. By his early twenties, he was considered an intellectual, creating powerful works of prose that initiated a great deal of debate. Extremely interesting, and always unorthodox, his work has reflected the trauma of life under a totalitarian regime

STANISLAW LEM

The New York Times once referred to this Polish writer as 'both a polymath and a virtuoso storyteller and stylist. Put them together and they add up to a genius...' It went on to praise the 'bewildering labyrinth of moods' in his fiction, and his powerful imagination. That description continues to hold up, despite the passing of the years. He remains the best sci-fi author of the late 20th century not writing in English.

Photograph: AFP/AFP/Getty Images and LUKASZ TRZCINSKI/AFP/Getty Images

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