CZECHIA: Novel and Europe - Juergen Boos, Tomáš Kubíček, Aleš Šteger

Participants: Juergen Boos, Tomáš Kubíček, Aleš Šteger

Moderator: Christine Watty

What does the European novel look like today?

‘The novel, which I call European, emerged at the beginning of the modern era in southern Europe and represents a self-contained historical entity that later extended its reach beyond geographical Europe (particularly in North and South America). Because of the richness of its forms, because of the dizzyingly concentrated intensity of its development and because of its social role, the European novel (like European music) has no equal in any other culture,’ wrote Milan Kundera in 1986. And what does the European novel look like today? Is it still a carrier of strong social content and unrest? And is it read as such?’

Quote: Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel, Essay / Edition Akzente, Carl Hanser Verlag. 1987 / translated from the French by Brigitte Weidmann.

Organiser: Moravian Library, Brno