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Philosophy & Literature

Milan Kundera’s Philosophy of the Novel

Mike Sutton reflects on the existential code of the novel.

As well as several striking novels, notably The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), the Czech-French author Milan Kundera (1929-2023) wrote extensively about the role of literature in philosophy. He saw fiction as a perfect vehicle for certain types of philosophy, particularly post-modernism and existentialism. “For me”, he said, “the founder of the Modern Era is not only Descartes but also Cervantes.”

Kundera was born in Czechoslovakia, and died in Paris last July, aged 94. He was heavily influenced by his background, especially by the Prague Spring of 1968, when the Czech government revolted against Soviet rule.

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