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Quote by Milan Kundera

“Every novel says to the reader: “Things are not as simple as you think.” That is the novel’s eternal truth, but it grows steadily harder to hear amid the din of easy, quick answers that come faster than the question and block it off. In the spirit of our time, it’s either Anna or Karenin who is right, and the ancient wisdom of Cervantes, telling us about the difficulty of knowing and the elusiveness of truth, seems cumbersome and useless.”

Quote by Milan Kundera

Work

The Art of the Novel

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Author

Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera

Milan Kundera is a renowned Czech-French writer known for his profound psychological insights and unique narrative techniques. His works often explore themes of personal freedom, love, morality, and existentialism, with notable titles including 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' and 'The Joke'. more

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“O Don Quixote, wise as thou art brave, La Mancha's splendor and of Spain the star! To thee I say that if the peerless maid, Dulcinea del Toboso, is to be restored to the state that was once hers, it needs must be that thy squire Sancho take on his bared behind, those sturdy buttocks, must consent to take three thousand lashes and three hundred more, and well laid on, that they may sting and smart; for those are the authors of her woe have thus resolved, and that is why I've come, This, gentles, is the word I bring to you.”

“Eine Ideologie kann man nicht mit Bomben bekämpfen. Ein Großteil des Hasses gegen Israel – bei dem Teil der palästinensischen Bevölkerung, der die Geisel und Toten bejubelte, die durch die Straßen Gazas paradiert wurden, und Süßigkeiten verteilte – ist über Jahrzehnte indoktriniert und kann nicht wie ein Licht ausgeknipst werden. Keine Armee der Welt kann Jahrzehnte des Misstrauens und des Hasses allein durch Kämpfen besiegen. Erst recht keine, deren Soldaten von Verletzung, Rache, Wut oder existenzieller Angst angetrieben sind. Erst recht nicht, wenn die Menschen, die irgendwann als friedliche Nachbarn neben uns leben sollen, alles verlieren, was den Wunsch nach Frieden antreiben könnte.”

“As you know, I have wealth of my own and do not desire anyone else's; I am free and do not care to submit to another; I do not love or despise anyone. I do not deceive this one or solicit that one; I do not mock one or amuse myself with another. The honest conversation of the shepherdesses from these hamlets, and tending to my goats, are my entertainment. The limits of my desires are these mountains, and if they go beyond here, it is to contemplate the beauty of heaven and the steps whereby the soul travels to its first home.”