Milan Kundera on the Novel
March 7, 2007
The Art of the Novel is Milan Kundera’s meditation on narrative’s perpetually dying art form, and for anyone interested in the intersection of literature and philosophy it’s an accessible treat. It’s the first in a series. The most recent is The Curtain, and the middle entry was Testaments Betrayed.
The philosophical “purpose” of the novel is not an idle concern! So many perfectly crafted but inconsequential stories, that don’t wade into the mystery of being. So little time. One of these Kundera books, along with Francine Prose’s recent craft book Reading Like a Writer — that’s what I’d give someone who wanted to get into writing stories.
You make me want to re-read that Kundera book. I read it a loooong time ago when I was just starting to write fiction. Loved it then.