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Milan Kundera feels the unbearable weight of disappointment

In two essays, from 1967 and 1983, he expresses the sense of abandonment felt in Central Europe – and his own dismay at the superficiality of western culture

6 May 2023

9:00 AM

6 May 2023

9:00 AM

A Kidnapped West: The Tragedy of Central Europe Milan Kundera

Faber, pp.96, 10

If you’re looking for a towering intellect to dispense guidance and illumination on current events, particularly one from Central Europe, the hearth of gravitas, piano sonatas, polyglotism, the reading of Hegel etc, Milan Kundera, in A Kidnapped West, will be a bit of a disappointment.

This isn’t Kundera’s fault. The volume contains a short speech from 1967 and an essay from 1983.

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