Ignorance

A Novel

By Milan Kundera | Publisher: HarperCollins

About the book

“Kundera once more delivers a seductive, intelligent entertainment … [with] elegance and grace.” — Washington Post Book World

“Nothing short of masterful.”  — Newsweek

A brilliant novel set in contemporary Prague, by one of the most distinguished writers of our time.

A man and a woman meet by chance while returning to their homeland, which they had abandoned 20 years earlier when they chose to become exiles. Will they manage to pick up the thread of their strange love story, interrupted almost as soon as it began and then lost in the tides of history? The truth is that after such a long absence “their memories no longer match.” We always believe that our memories coincide with those of the person we loved, that we experienced the same thing. But this is just an illusion. Only those who return after 20 years, like Ulysses returning to his native Ithaca, can be dazzled and astounded by observing the goddess of ignorance first-hand.

Kundera is the only author today who can take dizzying concepts such as absence, memory, forgetting, and ignorance, and transform them into material for a novel, masterfully orchestrating them into a polyphonic and moving work.

Editions of Ignorance

Paperback
ISBN 9780060002107
EBook
ISBN 9780063290686

Read an Excerpt

“Kundera once more delivers a seductive, intelligent entertainment … [with] elegance and grace.” — Washington Post Book World

“Nothing short of masterful.”  — Newsweek

A brilliant novel set in contemporary Prague, by one of the most distinguished writers of our time.

A man and a woman meet by chance while returning to their homeland, which they had abandoned 20 years earlier when they chose to become exiles. Will they manage to pick up the thread of their strange love story, interrupted almost as soon as it began and then lost in the tides of history? The truth is that after such a long absence “their memories no longer match.” We always believe that our memories coincide with those of the person we loved, that we experienced the same thing. But this is just an illusion. Only those who return after 20 years, like Ulysses returning to his native Ithaca, can be dazzled and astounded by observing the goddess of ignorance first-hand.

Kundera is the only author today who can take dizzying concepts such as absence, memory, forgetting, and ignorance, and transform them into material for a novel, masterfully orchestrating them into a polyphonic and moving work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ignorance about?

“Kundera once more delivers a seductive, intelligent entertainment … [with] elegance and grace.” — Washington Post Book World

“Nothing short of masterful.”  — Newsweek

A brilliant novel set in contemporary Prague, by one of the most distinguished writers of our time.

A man and a woman meet by chance while returning to their homeland, which they had abandoned 20 years earlier when they chose to become exiles. Will they manage to pick up the thread of their strange love story, interrupted almost as soon as it began and then lost in the tides of history? The truth is that after such a long absence “their memories no longer match.” We always believe that our memories coincide with those of the person we loved, that we experienced the same thing. But this is just an illusion. Only those who return after 20 years, like Ulysses returning to his native Ithaca, can be dazzled and astounded by observing the goddess of ignorance first-hand.

Kundera is the only author today who can take dizzying concepts such as absence, memory, forgetting, and ignorance, and transform them into material for a novel, masterfully orchestrating them into a polyphonic and moving work.

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Ignorance?

Fiction > Fiction: literary and general non-genre

Where can I read a sample of Ignorance?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780060002107

Who is/are the Author/s of the book Ignorance?

Milan Kundera

Who is the Publisher of the book Ignorance?

HarperCollins

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

Ignorance is available as paperback(ISBN 9780060002107) and ebook(ISBN 9780063290686)

Where can I buy Ignorance online or support local independent bookshops?

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Where can I buy Ignorance?