Hello Gentle Reader,
Milan Kundera is and was one of the most important European writers of the last century. A giant of international literature, Kundera was unanimously praised as being one of the most important and influential Czech writers of the Post-War Era, which included fellow countrymen: Bohumil Hrabal, Václav Havel, and Ivan Klima. Kundera's novels are full of tragicomic characters, biting satire, and a sense of playfulness in every sense of the word, while rooting themselves into deep philosophical debates and discussions. This is clearly seen in his best-known novel: "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," which remains his most recognizable novel. Born in Brno, a city in eastern Czechia, to a comfortable middle-class family. His father was a renowned musicologist and pianist, which became great influences on Milan Kundera himself, who in turn learned to play piano while gaining an apprenticeship in both musicology as a study and musical composition. Music remained an influential force on Kundera's literary output. Yet, Kundera's early life were marked by political upheaval and violent confrontations. Like many of his generation, Kundera came of age during violence, during the Second World War and the Nazi Germany's invasion and subsequent occupation of the then Czechoslovakia. In his youth, as is almost expected or a rite of passage, Milan Kundera joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. In University, Kundera studied literature and aestheticism before transferring to film studies and studied directing and script writing. This was the first time in which Kundera would have a mediocre brush with ideological conformity, when he was expelled from the Communist Party along with fellow writer Jan Trefulka, for anti-party activities. This experience became the inspiration and premise for Kundera's novel: "The Joke," and Trefulka's novel: "Happiness Rained on Them." Kundera would later be reinstated into the party, and expelled again in the 1970s. Though not directly involved with the Prague Spring, Milan Kundera was sympathetic to the movement, while being somewhat apologist for the Soviet Union as it invaded then Czechoslovakia to squash the uprising. During this time, Kundera openly debated in the papers with Václav Havel, remaining true to his opinions that reformed communism can still be achieved, and attempting to encourage optimism for a Prague Autumn. Kundera, ultimately was forced to abandon his position, when the oppression became more blatant, which for Kundera took a particular nasty turn, including being dismissed for his academic positions; his novel "The Joke," banned from publication and consumption, while Kundera was sanctioned from any further publishing activities. Then came the more routine harassments, interrogations, and surveillance. In 1975, Milan Kundera left then communist Czechoslovakia for France. Ultimately being expelled from the party and stripped of his Czechoslovak citizenship, and a difficult and uncomfortable relationship with the country, even in the post-soviet landscape, where Kundera remained a complicated figure. As a writer, however, Milan Kundera is considered one of the best. His novels were deliriously funny as they were tragic; while Kundera's literary language was considered full body, and the writer showed a greater (and successful) interest with language, over conventional static descriptive prose writing. Kundera's cinematic language focused on the essential components of characters, providing readers with enough information to complete the development and imagination of the character. As for Kundera's literary themes, they are universal while being completely singular. At first there was the theme of the duality and contrary realities of life under an authoritarian government, where a sense of Kafkaesque confusion is set to abound. Other thematic and philosophical queries included identity and the nature of exile, disillusionment as a state of being, guilt and runcination, and personal responsibility; but also, life that exists beyond the social and artistic confines, all the while celebrating the otherwise pleasures of an unextraordinary life. Throughout the last three decades, Milan Kundera was considered a perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. One of the most important Czech writers of his generation, it was seen as expected that Kundera would receive the acknowledgement. Yet, in a manner similar to that of Tolstoy and Joyce, Milan Kundera would never receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which in all fairness, does not discredit or diminish Kundera, but will ensure his legacy remains not only on his quality of his literary work, but also of being a writer on a continually growing list of the Nobel's: missed opportunities.
Rest in Peace, Milan Kundera. Heaven knows its well deserved.
Thank you for reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
M. Mary
Milan Kundera is and was one of the most important European writers of the last century. A giant of international literature, Kundera was unanimously praised as being one of the most important and influential Czech writers of the Post-War Era, which included fellow countrymen: Bohumil Hrabal, Václav Havel, and Ivan Klima. Kundera's novels are full of tragicomic characters, biting satire, and a sense of playfulness in every sense of the word, while rooting themselves into deep philosophical debates and discussions. This is clearly seen in his best-known novel: "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," which remains his most recognizable novel. Born in Brno, a city in eastern Czechia, to a comfortable middle-class family. His father was a renowned musicologist and pianist, which became great influences on Milan Kundera himself, who in turn learned to play piano while gaining an apprenticeship in both musicology as a study and musical composition. Music remained an influential force on Kundera's literary output. Yet, Kundera's early life were marked by political upheaval and violent confrontations. Like many of his generation, Kundera came of age during violence, during the Second World War and the Nazi Germany's invasion and subsequent occupation of the then Czechoslovakia. In his youth, as is almost expected or a rite of passage, Milan Kundera joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. In University, Kundera studied literature and aestheticism before transferring to film studies and studied directing and script writing. This was the first time in which Kundera would have a mediocre brush with ideological conformity, when he was expelled from the Communist Party along with fellow writer Jan Trefulka, for anti-party activities. This experience became the inspiration and premise for Kundera's novel: "The Joke," and Trefulka's novel: "Happiness Rained on Them." Kundera would later be reinstated into the party, and expelled again in the 1970s. Though not directly involved with the Prague Spring, Milan Kundera was sympathetic to the movement, while being somewhat apologist for the Soviet Union as it invaded then Czechoslovakia to squash the uprising. During this time, Kundera openly debated in the papers with Václav Havel, remaining true to his opinions that reformed communism can still be achieved, and attempting to encourage optimism for a Prague Autumn. Kundera, ultimately was forced to abandon his position, when the oppression became more blatant, which for Kundera took a particular nasty turn, including being dismissed for his academic positions; his novel "The Joke," banned from publication and consumption, while Kundera was sanctioned from any further publishing activities. Then came the more routine harassments, interrogations, and surveillance. In 1975, Milan Kundera left then communist Czechoslovakia for France. Ultimately being expelled from the party and stripped of his Czechoslovak citizenship, and a difficult and uncomfortable relationship with the country, even in the post-soviet landscape, where Kundera remained a complicated figure. As a writer, however, Milan Kundera is considered one of the best. His novels were deliriously funny as they were tragic; while Kundera's literary language was considered full body, and the writer showed a greater (and successful) interest with language, over conventional static descriptive prose writing. Kundera's cinematic language focused on the essential components of characters, providing readers with enough information to complete the development and imagination of the character. As for Kundera's literary themes, they are universal while being completely singular. At first there was the theme of the duality and contrary realities of life under an authoritarian government, where a sense of Kafkaesque confusion is set to abound. Other thematic and philosophical queries included identity and the nature of exile, disillusionment as a state of being, guilt and runcination, and personal responsibility; but also, life that exists beyond the social and artistic confines, all the while celebrating the otherwise pleasures of an unextraordinary life. Throughout the last three decades, Milan Kundera was considered a perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. One of the most important Czech writers of his generation, it was seen as expected that Kundera would receive the acknowledgement. Yet, in a manner similar to that of Tolstoy and Joyce, Milan Kundera would never receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which in all fairness, does not discredit or diminish Kundera, but will ensure his legacy remains not only on his quality of his literary work, but also of being a writer on a continually growing list of the Nobel's: missed opportunities.
Rest in Peace, Milan Kundera. Heaven knows its well deserved.
Thank you for reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
M. Mary
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