The Art of the Novel Audiobook By Milan Kundera, Linda Asher - translator cover art

The Art of the Novel

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The Art of the Novel

By: Milan Kundera, Linda Asher - translator
Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
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Kundera brilliantly examines the work of such important and diverse figures as Rabelais, Cervantes, Sterne, Diderot, Flaubert, Tolstoy, and Musil. He is especially penetrating on Hermann Broch, and his exploration of the world of Kafka's novels vividly reveals the comic terror of Kafka's bureaucratized universe.

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 postpsychological novel.

©2000 Milan Kundera (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Classics Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing Fiction
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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.

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

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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.

Informative and Inspiring

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

The essence of the novel

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