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Loading... The Joke (Definitive Version) (original 1967; edition 1993)by Milan Kundera
Work InformationThe Joke by Milan Kundera (1967)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. 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. no reviews | add a review
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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. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)891.8635Literature Literature of other languages Literature of east Indo-European and Celtic languages West and South Slavic languages (Bulgarian, Slovene, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, and Macedonian) Czech Czech fiction 1900–1989LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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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. ( )