Michael Dirda's article on Kundera's "curtain"

Taken from:

Milan Kundera on the civilizing values of the novel.

By Michael Dirda

Sunday, February 4, 2007; Page BW10

Only the aesthetic project itself truly matters, the fully achieved novel, poem or play. In this light, the desire for artistic fame isn't mere egotism:

"Every novel created with real passion aspires quite naturally to a lasting aesthetic value, meaning to a value capable of surviving its author. To write without having that ambition is cynicism: a mediocre plumber may be useful to people, but a mediocre novelist who consciously produced books that are ephemeral, commonplace, conventional -- thus non-useful, thus burdensome, thus noxious -- is contemptible. This is the novelist's curse: his honesty is bound to the vile stake of his megalomania."

One may disagree with this -- surely, there is a place in our lives for entertainment and escape -- but, as the French expression goes, Kundera always gives you furiously to think.

LIZ'S THOUGHTS ON THAT:

AS LONG AS THERE ARE NOVELISTS OUT THERE WRITING "EPHEMERAL, COMMONPLACE, CONVENTIONAL" NOVELS, BOOKSTORES WILL STAY THE MEGABUSINESSES THAT THEY ARE. FRANKLY, I DON'T MIND COMBING THROUGH THE STACKS OF PEOPLE READ THIS? CRAP TO FIND THAT BOOK THAT MAKES MY SKIN RIPPLE. I RATHER LIKE THE HUNT. BESIDES, AS LONG AS READING IS COOL, MORE PEOPLE WILL BUY GOOD BOOKS TOO. YOU KNOW, TRICKLE DOWN. THUS MORE GOOD BOOKS WILL GET PUBLISHED. GOOD=LASTING AESTHETIC VALUE. AFTER READING THIS, I ADDED KUNDERA'S "Art Of The Novel" TO MY ORGANIC QUEUE (MEMORY).