The Art of the Novel

By: Milan Kundera

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

“Incites us to reflect on fiction and philosophy, knowledge and truth, and brilliantly illustrates the art of the essay.” — The New Republic

""Every novelist's work contains an implicit vision of the history of the novel, an idea of what the novel is. I have tried to express the idea of the novel that is inherent in my own novels."" — Milan Kundera

Kundera brilliantly examines the evolution, construction, and essence of the novel as an art form through the lens of his own work and through the work of such important and diverse figures as Rabelais, Cervantes, Sterne, Diderot, Flaubert, Tolstoy, Musil, Kafka, and perhaps the least known of all the great novelists of our time, Hermann Broch.

Kundera's discussion of his own work includes his views on the role of historical events in fiction, the meaning of action, and the creation of character in the post-psychological novel.

Informative and Inspiring

I recommend this to anyone interested in writing, from beginners to professionals. If you've read anything Kundera has written, you know he is a thoughtful and caring human being. Best of luck in your writing adventures.

The essence of the novel

Best discussion of the nature and value of the novel and of why ideologues want to exalt kitsch and discourage the novel.

Fans of Kundera, the novel, and literature will enjoy this

Milan Kundera is my favorite novelist, so to hear one's favorite novelist discuss the novel is a real treat. People with an interest in his work, fiction, and literature will enjoy this book and his discussion of what a novel is and is not, what his job as a novelist is, and why he hasn't granted an interview since 1985. He refers to his best-known works regularly, but almost omits "Immortality" entirely, for fans of that book.

Kundera makes it clear that he sees Miguel de Cervantes as the master of the novel. Listening to this book shook up my upcoming reading list quite a bit.

I removed one star because this is not a book for everyone. He spends significant time analyzing Hermann Broch's "The Sleepwalkers," which may not be known or read by a wider audience. The reader would be better off choosing a Kundera novel than this book if her or his knowledge of the author's work and classic novels, in general, is not reasonably broad.

God loves to see us thinking vs. God laughs when He sees us thinking.

I was amazed by Milan Kundera’s reason to compose his own dictionary in the context of the various translations.