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All too often, this brilliant novel of thwarted love and revenge miscarried has been read for its political implications. Now, a quarter century after The Joke was first published and several years after the collapse of the Soviet-imposed Czechoslovak regime, it becomes easier to put such implications into perspective in favor of valuing the book (and all Kundera 's work) as what it truly is: great, stirring literature that sheds new light on the eternal themes of human existence. The present edition provides English-language readers an important further means toward revaluation of The Joke. For reasons he describes in his Author's Note, Milan Kundera devoted much time to creating (with the assistance of his American publisher-editor) a completely revised translation that reflects his original as closely as any translation possibly can: reflects it in its fidelity not only to the words and syntax but also to the characteristic dictions and tonalities of the novel's narrators. The result is nothing less than the restoration of a classic.… (more)
Kundera is a master whose work I am not competent to evaluate or critique, but I know I liked this book a lot. It was, to me, a powerful reflection on how a small incident - in this case a joke - can change what otherwise would have been someone's life. A mere aside or misstep, or an error of judgment, can distort a day, a relationship or the stream of a career; and that aside, misstep or error of judgment cannot be recalled. (And so, for example, someone might decide not to go to UCal at Santa Barbara but to the University of Illinois because of apprehension about the cost of living in California being forbiddingly high, and spend 2 years in ice cold, bare prairie, rather than on a sunny beach.) In this book, though, the consequence of one error of judgment resulted in a drastic change and diminution of a young man's life in the '50's in Communist Czechoslovakia. ( )
Weil die schöne Marketa eine politische Schulung einem Wochenende in trauter Zweisamkeit mit Ludvik vorzieht, schreibt er ihr eine ironische Postkarte, die in falsche Hände gerät und Ludviks Karriere zerstört. Nach Jahren will er die lang ersehnte Rache nehmen und wird erneut bitterlich betrogen ... Der Scherz ist ein Roman voller Liebesverwicklungen und Kunderas bewegendstes Buch - eine Lektüre für Leser mit Herz und Verstand.
I read this book to give me a little sense of place about the Czech Republic before a vacation to Central Europe. I wanted a book that was fun to read but would also give me a sense of setting in Prague. This story is set during the post World War II Communist era in Czechoslovakia. As a joke, the main character, Ludvik, sends a post card to a lover with a statement that is definitely anti-Communist propaganda. However, the censors don't see it as a joke and Ludvig's promising life as a student quickly ends and he spends several years of his life in work camps. Years later, he plots his revenge on his former friend and comrade who was instrumental in his punishment by seducing this man's wife. There are many nested 'jokes' in this story because nothing turns out exactly as it was intended.
This story definitely gives a feeling for the oppression of living under Communist rule, but even more than that, there are several universal themes about revenge, friendship, and human resilience in the face of change. The writing was beautiful and the plot had universal lessons that made me think a lot about my own life. ( )
So here I was, home again after all those years. Standing in the main square (which I had crossed countless times as a child, as a boy, as a young man), I felt no emotion whatsoever; all I could think was that the flat space, with the spire of the town hall (like a soldier in an ancient helmet) rising above the rooftops, looked like a huge parade ground and that the military past of the Moravian town, once a bastion against Magyar and Turk invaders, had engraved an irrevocable ugliness on its face.
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We had stood there with him like this for about ten minutes when the second fiddle reappeared and signaled us to help Jaroslav to his feet; supporting him under the arms, we slowly led him through the noisy, drunken adolescents out into the street, where an ambulance stood waiting, all its lights ablaze.
Please note: The 1st English-language version was translated by Hamblyn and Stallybrass (1969); the 2nd English version was based on Hamblyn and Stallybrass, but "curtailed" (1969, New York, Coward-McCann); the 3rd English version was revised by author (1970, London, Penguin); the 4th English version was translated by Heim and includes a preface by Kundera explaining the previous 3 English versions (1982); and the 5th Definitive Version in English was fully revised by Kundera and translated by Kundera and Asher, based on Heim's previous translation (1992). Definitive Version has "Author's Note" explaining all 5 English-language versions.
This 1st version translated into English was rendered by the translators David Hamblyn and Oliver Stallybrass. This 1st version should not be confused with subsequent English-language versions. For an explanation of this, see "Author's Note" in the definitive version (the 5th version).
The Definitive Version is the 5th version translated into English, which was fully revised by the author. For an explanation of this, see "Author's Note" in the definitive version. Definitive Version was translated by Aaron Asher and Milan Kundera, based on the 4th translation of Michael Henry Heim.
This 4th Version translated into English, is not to be confused with the Definitive Version (5th version, English). For an explanation of this, see "Author's Note" in the definitive version. This 4th Version was translated by Michael Henry Heim.
All too often, this brilliant novel of thwarted love and revenge miscarried has been read for its political implications. Now, a quarter century after The Joke was first published and several years after the collapse of the Soviet-imposed Czechoslovak regime, it becomes easier to put such implications into perspective in favor of valuing the book (and all Kundera 's work) as what it truly is: great, stirring literature that sheds new light on the eternal themes of human existence. The present edition provides English-language readers an important further means toward revaluation of The Joke. For reasons he describes in his Author's Note, Milan Kundera devoted much time to creating (with the assistance of his American publisher-editor) a completely revised translation that reflects his original as closely as any translation possibly can: reflects it in its fidelity not only to the words and syntax but also to the characteristic dictions and tonalities of the novel's narrators. The result is nothing less than the restoration of a classic.
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Wikipedia in English (2)
1
In this book, though, the consequence of one error of judgment resulted in a drastic change and diminution of a young man's life in the '50's in Communist Czechoslovakia. (