Sign-In
Cart
Testaments Betrayed: Essay in Nine Parts, an
Paperback
Letters & EssaysFiction Anthologies
Publisher Price: $17.99
ISBN13: 9780060927516
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: Aug 2 1996
Pages: 288
Weight: 0.54
Height: 0.74 Width: 5.41 Depth: 8.03
Language: English
A defense of fiction and a lesson in the art of reading. --New York Times Book Review
Testaments Betrayed is to be savored paragraph by paragraph. . . . It must be purchased, read, pondered, and argued within the margins. And frequently reread. -- Washington Post
A brilliant and thought-provoking essay from one of the twentieth century's masters of fiction, Testaments Betrayed is written like a novel: the same characters appear and reappear throughout the nine parts of the book, as do the principal themes that preoccupy the author. Kundera is a passionate defender of the moral rights of the artist and the respect due a work of art and its creator's wishes. The betrayal of both--often by their most passionate proponents--is one of the key ideas that informs this strikingly original and elegant book.
In this landmark essay collection, Kundera confronts the essential questions of European art:
- The Betrayal of Art: Kundera's passionate defense of the artist's intent against the distortions of critics, translators, and even well-meaning admirers who betray the creator's wishes.
- Kafka's Comic Genius: A brilliant refutation of academic Kafkology, revealing the humor, poetry, and misunderstood genius of one of modernism's greatest masters.
- The Soul of the Novel: A sweeping exploration of the novel's history, from the unserious spirit of Rabelais and Cervantes to the complex architectures of Broch and Musil.
- Stravinsky's Homeland: A surprising analysis of the great composer's work, arguing that after leaving Russia, Stravinsky found his only true home in the entire history of music.
Also in
Letters & Essays
Essays V2: Moral And Entertaining On The Various Faculties And Passions Of The Human Mind (1815)
Clarendon, Edward Hyde Earl of
Paperback
But Have You Read the Book? Romance Edition: 40 Love Stories That Inspired Our Favorite Films
Lopez, Kristen
Hardcover
Sez I to Myself: The Collected Essays of Frank and Malachy McCourt
McCourt, Malachy
McCourt, Frank
Hardcover
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
Nezhukumatathil, Aimee
Paperback
Little Apocalypses: Essays on Motherhood, Climate Change, and Hope at the End of the World
Teer, Kaitlyn
Paperback
Corazón Migrante. Ensayos Sobre Lo Que No Puedo Olvidar / Migrant Heart: Essays on What I Cannot Forget
Grande, Reyna
Paperback
Glimmerings: Letters on Faith Between a Poet and a Theologian
Wiman, Christian
Volf, Miroslav
Hardcover
Love in the Afternoon, and Evening: Essays and Conversations on Soap Operas
Druckman, Charlotte
Sen, Mayukh
Paperback
Wonderbook (Revised and Expanded): The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction
VanderMeer, Jeff
Paperback
Mon Cher Amour: The Love Letters of Albert Camus and Maria Casares, 1944-1959
Camus, Albert
Hardcover
Languages of Home: Essays on Writing, Hoop, and American Lives 1975-2025
Wideman, John Edgar
Hardcover