Agnes's Final Afternoon: An Essay on the Work of Milan Kundera

By François Ricard

Book Overview

Agn s's Final Afternoon imitates the protagonist of Milan Kundera's novel Immortality on the last afternoon of her life. Like all readers of fiction, Agn s steps out of the world of planned routes, responsibilities, and social self and gives herself up to the discovery of a new landscape, an experience that will transform her. Fran ois Ricard's essay enters into the writings of Milan Kundera in much the same way. The landscape he explores includes a chain of ten novels, composed between 1959 and 1999, and two books containing one of the most lucid reflections on the novel.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060005653
• ISBN13: 9780060005658
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

If you love Kundera and the fate of the novel

If you love Kundera and have read at least a few of his books, this literary review will help you grasp the depth of Kundera's works and help you understand why his novels are so revolutonary and enjoyable. Kundera's literary goal, as described by Richard, is nothing short of reinventing the novel as a contemporary art form and free from linear storytelling. Richard sees what Kundera is all about -- we, as readers, sense Kundera's vision but Richard really puts it in clear, simple focus. His description of the Kundera hero, someone who doesn't give up but simply stops playing the game, is worth the price of the book. Again, if you love Kundera and sense what he's all about, this book puts into clear prose exactly what makes Kundera unparalleled among the ranks of contemporary novelists.