Œuvre

This product is named "Work (Volume 2)" and features the words "deeply," "eagerly," and "a clear and disillusioned look." It describes being a novelist as more than just practicing a "literary genre" among others; it was an attitude, a wisdom, a position that excluded any identification with politics, religion, ideology, morality, or community. This non-identification was not seen as escape or passivity, but rather as resistance, challenge, and revolt. The question of whether one is left-wing or right-wing is irrelevant.

The rest of the description pertains to biography, perhaps the margins of the work, but not the work itself. This edition does not offer complete works, but a complete work that has been defined by the author in terms of its scope, title, and presentation. The text of these books, often revised by the author during re-editions or simple reprints, aims to be as definitive as possible. One will not find a biography of Kundera in this edition.

Instead, one will find a biography of his work. In fifteen chapters, one per book, François Ricard traces the fate of these books and discusses their publication, distribution, and reception.