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

An elegant and sophisticated literary essay on the art of reading Milan Kundera, ''Agnes''s Final Afternoon'' is a highly original work that imitates Kundera''s memorable protagonist, Agnes, from his beloved novel ''Immortality.'' Like a passionately devoted reader escaping into a work of fiction, Agnes steps out of her car, away from her world of planned routes, responsibilities, and social self, to surrender herself to the discovery of a new landscape, an experience that will ultimately transform her. Francois Ricard''s beautiful essay enters into the world of the writings of Milan Kundera in much the same way. The landscape Ricard explores includes a chain of ten novels, composed between 1959 and 1999, and three books containing one of the most lucid reflections on the novel and its nature, implications, history, and challenges. ''Agnes''s Final Afternoon'' takes readers through the themes and characters of the novels, their structural composition, polyphony of voices, and innovations of form and content that stretch the boundaries of the novel to a breaking point. ''Agnes''s Final Afternoon'' will inspire a sense of wonder and lead readers to appreciate the beauty and depth of Milan Kundera''s art.

About the author

François Ricard has been a professor of French literature at McGill University since 1971. His collection of essays on contemporary literature, La littérature contre elle-même, won the Governor General's Award in Canada. His writing about the work of Milan Kundera has been published in literary periodicals in the United States, France, Italy, and Canada. Agnès's Final Afternoon, already published in France, will also appear in Great Britain, the Netherlands, and China.

Product details

• Authors: Francois Ricard, Francois/ Asher Ricard, Francois Richard
• Assisted by: Aaron Asher (Translation)
• Publisher: Harper Perennial USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 28.09.2004
• EAN: 9780060005658
• ISBN: 978-0-06-000565-8
• No. of pages: 224
• Dimensions: 127 mm x 197 mm x 13 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; LITERARY COLLECTIONS: Essays, LITERARY COLLECTIONS: Letters, LITERARY CRITICISM: General, LITERARY COLLECTIONS: European / German, LITERARY COLLECTIONS: Speeches, LITERARY COLLECTIONS: Medieval, LITERARY CRITICISM: European / French, LITERARY CRITICISM: Russian & Former Soviet Union, LITERARY COLLECTIONS: European / Scandinavian