Milan Kundera

The Joke, Milan Kundera's first novel, gained him a huge following in his own country, and launched his worldwide literary reputation. 'Kundera is the saddest, funniest and most lovable of authors.' The Times

The Joke

The Joke (Definitive Version)

I wouldn't say that. They impress me. I admire them exactly because they're different. They love their bodies. We neglected ours. They love to travel. We stayed put. They love adventure. We lived our lives at meetings. They love jazz. We insipidly imitated folk music. They're devoted to themselves. We wanted to save the world. With our messianism we nearly destroyed it. Maybe they with their selfishness will save it.

I came to realize that there was no power capable of changing the image of my person lodged somnewhere in the supreme court ofhuman destinies; that this image (even though it bore no resemblance to me) was much more real than my actual self; that I was its shadow and not it mine; that I had no right to accuse it of bearing no resemblance tom, but rather that it was I who was guilty of the non-resemblance; and that the non-resemblance was my cross, which I could not unload on anyone else, which was mine alone to bear.

…I was not a hypocrite, with one real face and several false ones. I had several faces because I was young and didn't know who I was or wanted to be. (I was frightened by the differences between one face and the next; none of them scemed to fit me properly, and I groped my way clumsily among them.)

i was reminded of the matrix when i read this quote, and i find it so interesting that the belief of this world being “fake”, for lack of a better word, is a long-standing one

"I know youre a quiet workman on God's eternal construction site and don't like hearing about demolition, but what can I do? Myself, I'm not one of God's bricklayers. Besides, if God's bricklayers built real walls, I doubt we'd be able to demolish them. But instead of walls all I see is stage sets. And stage sets are made to be demolished.”

…it wasn't hate that made me do what I did, it was love, love of love, love of their house and home, love of their children, I wanted to help them, I bave a child a home and I tremble for them!

Karolína Kýčková

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Aidan

Returning from years in a forced-labor unit, Ludvik Jahn plots to seduce the wife of the man responsible for his exile

The Joke

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