From Kafka to Kundera: Novels and Novelists of the 20th Century

Author: Wu Xiaodong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Looking back at the literature of the recently passed 20th century, the premature judgment of it as classic may still be premature. However, the nine novelists from Kafka to Kundera, which Wu Xiaodong praises on the Jingda Lecture Platform, undoubtedly deserve the title of masters; the nine works he selects for interpretation and analysis in the classroom have already or will eventually be proven immortal. Therefore, Wu Xiaodong's insightful research on his beloved novelists and his unique interpretation of the novels he admires can be considered a review and assessment of 20th-century modernist literature. Although the author has no intention of establishing a covenant for the history of the novel, his broad perspective helps us gain a comprehensive view and grasp of the overall trajectory of a century of literature. This, in turn, allows us to understand the profound influence of this "most complex century in human history" on novelists and the novel form, as well as why 20th-century novels make readers feel that "reading is no longer a pastime or enjoyment; reading has become a serious, even painful ritual."