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A classic of literary criticism from one of the world’s greatest novelists and author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
‘A great novelist who is also a great critic.’ Guardian
Cervantes, Joyce, Flaubert, Broch, Tolstoy, Kafka. What distinguishes the world and work of a truly great novelist? In these stunning philosophical reflections on the history, practice and morality of the novel, Kundera mines his personal experience as an author to argue that the European novel is ‘an art born of the laughter of God’. Encompassing the role of historical events, the creation of character and the meaning of action in fiction, the result is a modern classic of literary criticism from one of the world’s finest novelists – philosophical, playful and profound.
The French-Czech novelist Milan Kundera was born in the Czech Republic and lived in France since 1975. He died in Paris in 2023.
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While best known for his novels, Milan Kundera was also a poet, essayist, critic and philosopher, making him a rare …
While best known for his novels, Milan Kundera was also a poet, essayist, critic and philosopher, making him a rare …
Read an extract from Milan Kundera's essay collection, A Kidnapped West, out now in hardback.
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