It's a rather philosophical novel originally written in Czech, but translated into English and just about every other language. It deals with 4 characters, 2 men and 2 woman, and takes place in Prague. The time period is during the unrest and reach for independence in Prague, Czechoslovakia's capital and cultural center, before the Russian invasion in 1968 and its aftermath. Sounds strange, but it's also a love story and written in such transcendentally beautiful prose. It's one of my favorite books, and with all my degrees in literature, I'm danged picky.