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The Joke

Definitive translation

By Milan Kundera, Michael Henry Heim (Translator)

(45)

| Paperback | 9780571166930

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Book Description

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 impContinue

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.

Critics

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    When a first-rate novel comes to us from Communist Europe, we do not want it sterilized and packaged: we want it raw. Last year, the Czechoslovakian author of The Joke wrote from Prague to the London Times Literary Supplement, protesting that his Bri ... (read full critics)

    nybooks published on Thu, 26 Aug 2010

1 Review

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  • 1 person find this helpful

    I liked this best of the three of Kundera's books I've read so far. I loved the interweaving plot and characters. It was good to see the different perspectives of what was happening and was all around very enjoyable. It was nice to read about the younger characters, the part when he was in "the arm ... (continue)

    I liked this best of the three of Kundera's books I've read so far. I loved the interweaving plot and characters. It was good to see the different perspectives of what was happening and was all around very enjoyable. It was nice to read about the younger characters, the part when he was in "the army" was reminiscent of Kerouac. The impossibility of ideals (whether love or communism) was a lovely theme for the book. Definitely recommended.

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    Robot-mel said on May 27, 2008 | Add your feedback

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