Description

Milan Kundera asks what gives Europe its sense of self. He looks at the place of its small nations. He argues that shared values in culture can help Europe. They can resist forces that threaten to tear it apart. These two nonfiction works are for readers who enjoy literature. They also speak to those drawn to culture and Europe’s past.

The title essay first came out in Le Débat in 1983. It looks at Europe’s plight. Its questions reach into the twenty-first century. The book also includes Literatura și națiunile mici. Kundera gave this speech at a Czechoslovak writers’ congress in 1967. This was before the Prague Spring. The texts span his life before and after moving to France. They defend human values and hold hope without losing sight of facts.

Pierre Nora links the essay to French debates about small nations. He notes how it shaped Alain Finkielkraut’s views. It also shaped views on Europe’s growth to the east. Central Europe seeks to defend its roots in culture. Nora asks whether the essay still shapes that defence.

Bogdan Ghiu translated the book. It forms part of the publisher’s Milan Kundera author series.