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玩笑
青年知识分子路德维克因为与女友开了个玩笑，被朋友泽马内克陷害，送入苦役营。归来后他为了报复泽马内克设计勾引其妻海伦娜。计划成功后，他才发现：泽马内克早想抛弃妻子，他的报复成了一个毫无作用的“玩笑”。
407 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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35904 people want to read
About the author
Milan Kundera
239?books18.5k?followersMilan Kundera (1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. He went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship in 2019.
Kundera wrote in Czech and French. He revises the French translations of all his books; people therefore consider these original works as not translations. He is best known for his novels, including The Joke (1967), The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1979), and The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), all of which exhibit his extreme though often comical skepticism.
Kundera wrote in Czech and French. He revises the French translations of all his books; people therefore consider these original works as not translations. He is best known for his novels, including The Joke (1967), The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1979), and The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), all of which exhibit his extreme though often comical skepticism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,303 reviews
June 6, 2017
On Monday at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon I decided I was going to read "The Joke." I don't really know why; it occurred to me out of the blue -- the only thought I'd ever given Kundera before that point was that the titles of his books obviously lived in a world devoid of irony in order to persist in their existence, and that that unironic world was one I wanted no part of. On the other hand, I really liked the title "The Joke" and I'd always liked the font in which it was written. That was about all I needed, so I took the train over to the Strand and picked up their only copy (Shhh -- it was fate!).
Anyway, now it's about 1:30 AM on Wednesday and I just finished the book, so I'm having a Moment. Luckily, the pensive/sad confusion I was left with upon finishing the book had worked itself out in my head even before I'd finished spreading jam on my Post-Reading Biscuit (not an allegory, I actually did just eat a biscuit): "The Joke" is basically about that moment when you realize that the past has just caught up with you/resolved itself/tortured you for far longer than it needed.
It reminds me of this time a few years ago when I started sobbing over old photos of myself as a little kid one night while I was at my parents' house. I sort of ended up burying my head in my mother's lap and she said something shockingly insightful, just about the most shockingly insightful thing she's ever said to me -- that sometimes we feel sad about the past just because we can't get it back, and that's okay. The implication -- which was clear then but I've lost in the re-telling -- was that even the parts of the past that aren't all that significant are overwhelmingly ultimate in their "lost-ness" with the passage of time, and the shock of that can often be kind of crushing, but our reaction to that (in my case, sobbing and snotting all over my mother's lap and afghan) is totally human and completely all right.
It's weird I remember that, because "The Joke" is actually not about inconsequential parts of the past. It's about the earth-shattering bits that shape a person (for better or worse), as well as the slow, creeping dissatisfaction of regret. This is probably what most first novels are about, because why else would a beginning writer finally commit all those words to paper for the first time if they weren't plagued by something they wanted to release, i.e. themselves from i.e. the past?
Right. So probably most first novels are about this, but "The Joke" pretends to be about a lot of other things before that, which is its trick. It relaxes you with detached and dated political analysis and historical references and discussions of music and quirky post-modern unreliable narrators and Wuthering Heights-esque generation-spanning love.
But in the last fifty pages or so it starts twisting and revealing itself, almost clumsily, and by the end you realize it's so freaking obvious! No wonder that for the past two days you've inexplicably been thinking about the sadnesses of your own life and your past relationships and people you know who've died. And no wonder you're sitting up in the middle of the night writing a confessional missive on the internet wankfest that is 欧宝娱乐. That's ALL THAT FREAKING BOOK WAS ABOUT! And you can't even tell what part of what you're thinking is something that happened in the book and what part is something that happened to you.
Anyway. The other thing is that there aren't any actual jokes in it. And maybe I was at my most pure when I was seventeen. The End.
Anyway, now it's about 1:30 AM on Wednesday and I just finished the book, so I'm having a Moment. Luckily, the pensive/sad confusion I was left with upon finishing the book had worked itself out in my head even before I'd finished spreading jam on my Post-Reading Biscuit (not an allegory, I actually did just eat a biscuit): "The Joke" is basically about that moment when you realize that the past has just caught up with you/resolved itself/tortured you for far longer than it needed.
It reminds me of this time a few years ago when I started sobbing over old photos of myself as a little kid one night while I was at my parents' house. I sort of ended up burying my head in my mother's lap and she said something shockingly insightful, just about the most shockingly insightful thing she's ever said to me -- that sometimes we feel sad about the past just because we can't get it back, and that's okay. The implication -- which was clear then but I've lost in the re-telling -- was that even the parts of the past that aren't all that significant are overwhelmingly ultimate in their "lost-ness" with the passage of time, and the shock of that can often be kind of crushing, but our reaction to that (in my case, sobbing and snotting all over my mother's lap and afghan) is totally human and completely all right.
It's weird I remember that, because "The Joke" is actually not about inconsequential parts of the past. It's about the earth-shattering bits that shape a person (for better or worse), as well as the slow, creeping dissatisfaction of regret. This is probably what most first novels are about, because why else would a beginning writer finally commit all those words to paper for the first time if they weren't plagued by something they wanted to release, i.e. themselves from i.e. the past?
Right. So probably most first novels are about this, but "The Joke" pretends to be about a lot of other things before that, which is its trick. It relaxes you with detached and dated political analysis and historical references and discussions of music and quirky post-modern unreliable narrators and Wuthering Heights-esque generation-spanning love.
But in the last fifty pages or so it starts twisting and revealing itself, almost clumsily, and by the end you realize it's so freaking obvious! No wonder that for the past two days you've inexplicably been thinking about the sadnesses of your own life and your past relationships and people you know who've died. And no wonder you're sitting up in the middle of the night writing a confessional missive on the internet wankfest that is 欧宝娱乐. That's ALL THAT FREAKING BOOK WAS ABOUT! And you can't even tell what part of what you're thinking is something that happened in the book and what part is something that happened to you.
Anyway. The other thing is that there aren't any actual jokes in it. And maybe I was at my most pure when I was seventeen. The End.
December 21, 2021
(Book 402 from 1001 books) - ?ert = The Joke, Milan Kundera
The Joke is Milan Kundera's first novel, originally published in 1967.
The novel is composed of many jokes, which have strong effects on the characters. The story is told from the four viewpoints of Ludvik Jahn, Helena Zemánková, Kostka, and Jaroslav.
Jaroslav's joke is the transition away from his coveted Moravian folk lifestyle and appreciation. Kostka, who has separated himself from the Communist Party due to his Christianity, serves as a counterpoint to Ludvik.
Helena serves as Ludvik's victim and is satirical of the seriousness of party supporters. Ludvik demonstrates the shortcomings of the party and propels the plot in his search for revenge and redemption.
???? - ????? ?????? (????????)? ????? ?????? ?????: ??? ???? ??? ??????? ???1992??????
?????: ????? ???????: ?????? ??????? ?????: ???? ????????? ?????? ????????? ???1370? ??? ??? ???1372? ??411?? ??? ???? ???1379? ????9645512808? ??? ?????? ???1388? ????? ????????? ????????? ?? - ??? ?20?
???? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ???1967?????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ??? ????????? ?? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ? ??????? ????? ? ?? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ????
????? ?? ???? ???????: ????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ???? ? ?????? ???? ?????? ? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ???? ? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???????? ???? ? ???????? ????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ?? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?? ?? ????? ? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ??????????? ? ???? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ???????…?
????? ?????? ????? 01/12/1399???? ???????? 29/09/1400???? ???????? ?. ???????
The Joke is Milan Kundera's first novel, originally published in 1967.
The novel is composed of many jokes, which have strong effects on the characters. The story is told from the four viewpoints of Ludvik Jahn, Helena Zemánková, Kostka, and Jaroslav.
Jaroslav's joke is the transition away from his coveted Moravian folk lifestyle and appreciation. Kostka, who has separated himself from the Communist Party due to his Christianity, serves as a counterpoint to Ludvik.
Helena serves as Ludvik's victim and is satirical of the seriousness of party supporters. Ludvik demonstrates the shortcomings of the party and propels the plot in his search for revenge and redemption.
???? - ????? ?????? (????????)? ????? ?????? ?????: ??? ???? ??? ??????? ???1992??????
?????: ????? ???????: ?????? ??????? ?????: ???? ????????? ?????? ????????? ???1370? ??? ??? ???1372? ??411?? ??? ???? ???1379? ????9645512808? ??? ?????? ???1388? ????? ????????? ????????? ?? - ??? ?20?
???? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ???1967?????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ??? ????????? ?? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ? ??????? ????? ? ?? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ????
????? ?? ???? ???????: ????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ???? ? ?????? ???? ?????? ? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ???? ? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???????? ???? ? ???????? ????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ?? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?? ?? ????? ? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ??????????? ? ???? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ???????…?
????? ?????? ????? 01/12/1399???? ???????? 29/09/1400???? ???????? ?. ???????
September 9, 2023
Primul roman al lui Kundera (terminat ?n decembrie 1965, publicat abia ?n 1967). Mai pu?in eseu dec?t ?n celelalte romane. Ac?iunea e prilej de medita?ie, dar reflec?iile personajelor (?i numai ale personajelor) se ?nscriu firesc ?n desf??urarea evenimentelor, nu s?nt excesive ?i nu fac romanul artificios (precum Insuportabila u?ur?tate a fiin?ei). Deocamdat?, ?vocea auctorial?” lipse?te.
Gluma m-a dus cu g?ndul la romanul rusesc din secolul al XIX-lea.. De pild?, Lucia ?ebestkova ?i ?m?ntuitorul” ei, Kostka, s?nt personaje dostoievskiene. Eroii ??i rememoreaz? gre?elile, p?catele ?i conchid c? ?via?a ?i-a b?tut joc de ei”. Destinul e c?t se poate de ironic, m?car ?n cazul lui Jahn Ludvík ?i Kostka. Am?ndoi au fost st?p?ni?i de idei despotice, de pasiuni nemiloase, am?ndoi au fost am?gi?i (ori s-au am?git singuri), nici unul nu g?se?te o solu?ie izb?vitoare. Vie?ile lor pornesc de la o glum?, continu? ca fars? (uneori, tragic?) ?i se rezolv? ?n caricatura cea mai trivial?. M? refer, fire?te, la episodul final cu Helena Zemánková. Femeia ?ncearc? s? se sinucid? din dragoste, dar ?nghite, din gre?eal?, un pumn de laxative. S? ajungi ?ntr-un closet, fiindc? iube?ti n?prasnic un b?rbat f?r? scrupule, fiindc? vrei s?-l pedepse?ti, pare (?i chiar este) o nedreptate strig?toare la cer.
?ntr-un eseu din Arta romanului (2022, pp.109-110), Milan Kundera afirm? c? a construit cu maxim? aten?ie arhitectura romanului. Un roman nu trebuie s? fie inform (ca Omul f?r? ?nsu?iri, de exemplu):
(20.01.23, joi)
Gluma m-a dus cu g?ndul la romanul rusesc din secolul al XIX-lea.. De pild?, Lucia ?ebestkova ?i ?m?ntuitorul” ei, Kostka, s?nt personaje dostoievskiene. Eroii ??i rememoreaz? gre?elile, p?catele ?i conchid c? ?via?a ?i-a b?tut joc de ei”. Destinul e c?t se poate de ironic, m?car ?n cazul lui Jahn Ludvík ?i Kostka. Am?ndoi au fost st?p?ni?i de idei despotice, de pasiuni nemiloase, am?ndoi au fost am?gi?i (ori s-au am?git singuri), nici unul nu g?se?te o solu?ie izb?vitoare. Vie?ile lor pornesc de la o glum?, continu? ca fars? (uneori, tragic?) ?i se rezolv? ?n caricatura cea mai trivial?. M? refer, fire?te, la episodul final cu Helena Zemánková. Femeia ?ncearc? s? se sinucid? din dragoste, dar ?nghite, din gre?eal?, un pumn de laxative. S? ajungi ?ntr-un closet, fiindc? iube?ti n?prasnic un b?rbat f?r? scrupule, fiindc? vrei s?-l pedepse?ti, pare (?i chiar este) o nedreptate strig?toare la cer.
?ntr-un eseu din Arta romanului (2022, pp.109-110), Milan Kundera afirm? c? a construit cu maxim? aten?ie arhitectura romanului. Un roman nu trebuie s? fie inform (ca Omul f?r? ?nsu?iri, de exemplu):
?Monologul lui Ludvík ocup? 2/3 din carte, monologurile celorlal?i ?mpreun?, ocup? 1/3 din carte (Jaroslav 1/6, Kostka 1/9, Helena 1/18). Prin aceast? structur? matematic? este determinat? ceea ce a? numi punerea ?n lumin? a personajelor. Ludvík se afl? ?n plin? lumin?, luminat ?i din interior (prin propriul lui monolog) ?i din exterior (toate celelalte personaje ?i traseaz? portretul), Jaroslav ocup? prin monologul lui o ?esime a c?r?ii, iar autoportretul lui e modelat din exterior de monologul lui Ludvík. Et caetera. Fiecare personaj e luminat cu o alt? intensitate ?i ?ntr-un mod diferit. Lucia, unul dintre personajele cele mai importante, nu are un monolog al ei ?i e luminat? doar din exterior de monologurile lui Ludvík ?i Kostka. Absen?a lumin?rii interioare ?i d? un caracter misterios ?i insesizabil. Ea se g?se?te, ca s? spun a?a, de cealalt? parte a geamului, nu poate fi atins?”.
(20.01.23, joi)
August 5, 2015
The Set Up
Milan Kundera wrote this, his first, novel in his early 30's.
I had already read and loved two later works, and was expecting it to be somehow inferior, as if he was still learning the ropes. However, it's an amazingly mature novel, and could fit anywhere in his body of work.
For all its metaphysical concerns, the writing style is very much concerned with the material world and the dynamism within it. Philosophy derives partly from the activity of external factors. The first person narrators discover what people are thinking indirectly from their actions. Kundera observes and describes a character's behaviour rather than dwelling directly on their psychology. We see what characters have done, then we see them come undone. Bit by bit, by accumulation of knowledge, we start to understand why.
The novel plays out like a tense game of chess. Every move is precisely choreographed. Kundera sets the characters off on their journey, then follows them with his camera. And we follow him. Sometimes the work reads like a novelisation of a film or play. It portrays exactly what we see. Not a word is wasted.
The Joke
The concept of a joke pervades the novel. The title derives from a postcard the protagonist, Ludvik, writes to Marketa, the target of his affection, while she is studying Marxism in a Czech summer school in the early 60's:
"Optimism is the opium of the people! A healthy atmosphere stinks of stupidity! Long live Trotsky!"
The postcard is discovered by the Communist authorities, and after a brief investigation, hearing and vote, Ludvik is expelled from the Party, sacked from his teaching position at a university and sent off to work in a mine with enemies of the state.
Despite her beauty, Marketa is credulous, intellectually dull and lacking in a sense of humour. Ludvik's postcard is an attempt to play a silly joke on Marketa. However, the joke is lost on both Marketa and the state.
The Trap
In his preface, Kundera denies that the novel was designed to be a "major indictment of Stalinism". Instead, he argues that it's a love story. It is that, but I think he's being just a little ingenuous. Kundera pays equal attention to the political. Whether or not society had similar problems under Communism and Capitalism, Kundera describes a rigidity and humourlessness that affects both individuals and the state. Later, he would write of "the trap the world has become".
The underlying problem is both social and political: the tendency of both the individual and the state to be overly serious, inflexible, self-protective and punitive.
Whatever the political system, a sense of humour is a safety valve that allows pent up personal and social pressures to escape. Humour can relax, relieve and release tension (not to mention pretension).
If humour isn't possible or it doesn't work in the circumstances, the person, the collective remains too highly-strung, too highly sprung. The joke is a spring, a coil that allows the situation to uncoil and the tension to dissipate. A joke is what allows a tree to bend and sway in the wind.
The Structure
Kundera tells his tale in seven separate parts, each of which is divided into sub-parts. Each part is narrated by one of the major characters, three men, and one woman (Helena). One of the other characters, Lucie, is a trigger point for much of the action. However, she doesn't tell her own story. Instead, the other characters shine a light on her from outside. We are never confident that we have gotten to know her. She remains elusive.
After publication, a Czech critic observed that there was a mathematical structure to the novel (that wasn't apparent to Kundera himself). If you broke the novel into 18 parts, Ludvik's monologue took up 12, Jaroslav three, Kostka two, and Helena one. I can't help picturing this as a fern-like fractal that furls and unfurls in the telling. Thus, the coiling and uncoiling of the joke (and its aftermath) is reflected in the structure of the novel.
The Punch Line
Apart from the joke, as Kundera states, the novel is a love story. We see most of it from Ludvik's twenty/thirty-something point of view. We see what he does to women and why. It's not always a pretty picture, but it is truthful. Ludvik's goal isn't always his own sexual pleasure or that of his companion. His relationship with Helena (whose story we hear from her) is motivated by revenge on a rival (which proves to be misconceived).
Some readers might complain about Ludvik's or Kundera's sexism and cruelty. However, overall, the design of the novel allows us to witness different perspectives in a polyphonic manner. When we see the situation from the other side(s), we learn that Ludvik might equally have been the victim of a cosmic joke.
[Both photos are stills from the 1969 film of the novel directed by Jaromil Jire?.]
The Recognition
"The Joke" is effectively a caveat against egotism, a warning against selfishness, especially in sexual relationships. In the Communist polit-speak used against Ludvik, it's a reproach of "traces of individualism" and "intellectual tendencies", the refusal to submit to the greater good (whether of the couple or of society). However, these traces and tendencies go further than Communist society, hence the broader ambitions Kundera had for his novel.
Whatever the political environment, Kundera describes a "depression over the bleakness of our erotic horizons".
How men in particular deal with this bleakness and depression reflects in their sexual behaviour. It's too easy for men to take it out on the woman closest to them.
Ludvik comments on "the incredible human capacity for transforming reality into a likeness of desires or ideals..." He describes the women in his life as angels and goddesses. There's a lack of reality in his perspective. Inevitably, it compromises the relationship itself:
"...a man may ask anything of a woman, but unless he wishes to appear a brute, he must make it possible for her to act in harmony with her deepest self-deceptions."
So women, equally, have desires and ideals that might misguide them. For both genders, then, desire is often founded in self-deceit, if not also the deceit of others.
The Vain Pursuit
Ludvik defines women in relation to himself and his own needs. Lucie's truth is hidden from Ludvik, because his gaze is single-mindedly selfish:
"I'd always taken comfort in seeing Lucie as something abstract, a legend and a myth, but now I realised that behind the poetry of my vision hid a starkly unpoetic reality; that I didn't know her as she actually was, in and of herself. All I'd been able to perceive (in my youthful egocentricity) was those aspects of her being touching directly on me (my loneliness, my captivity, my desire for tenderness and affection); she had never been anything more to me than a function of my situation, everything she was in her own right, had escaped me entirely."
Ultimately, Lucie reveals to Ludvik and via him to all men how much of their love is mere "vain pursuit". By extension, Kundera suggests that, both in our vanity and in our pursuit, we are the brunt of our own joke.
Milan Kundera wrote this, his first, novel in his early 30's.
I had already read and loved two later works, and was expecting it to be somehow inferior, as if he was still learning the ropes. However, it's an amazingly mature novel, and could fit anywhere in his body of work.
For all its metaphysical concerns, the writing style is very much concerned with the material world and the dynamism within it. Philosophy derives partly from the activity of external factors. The first person narrators discover what people are thinking indirectly from their actions. Kundera observes and describes a character's behaviour rather than dwelling directly on their psychology. We see what characters have done, then we see them come undone. Bit by bit, by accumulation of knowledge, we start to understand why.
The novel plays out like a tense game of chess. Every move is precisely choreographed. Kundera sets the characters off on their journey, then follows them with his camera. And we follow him. Sometimes the work reads like a novelisation of a film or play. It portrays exactly what we see. Not a word is wasted.
The Joke
The concept of a joke pervades the novel. The title derives from a postcard the protagonist, Ludvik, writes to Marketa, the target of his affection, while she is studying Marxism in a Czech summer school in the early 60's:
"Optimism is the opium of the people! A healthy atmosphere stinks of stupidity! Long live Trotsky!"
The postcard is discovered by the Communist authorities, and after a brief investigation, hearing and vote, Ludvik is expelled from the Party, sacked from his teaching position at a university and sent off to work in a mine with enemies of the state.
Despite her beauty, Marketa is credulous, intellectually dull and lacking in a sense of humour. Ludvik's postcard is an attempt to play a silly joke on Marketa. However, the joke is lost on both Marketa and the state.
The Trap
In his preface, Kundera denies that the novel was designed to be a "major indictment of Stalinism". Instead, he argues that it's a love story. It is that, but I think he's being just a little ingenuous. Kundera pays equal attention to the political. Whether or not society had similar problems under Communism and Capitalism, Kundera describes a rigidity and humourlessness that affects both individuals and the state. Later, he would write of "the trap the world has become".
The underlying problem is both social and political: the tendency of both the individual and the state to be overly serious, inflexible, self-protective and punitive.
Whatever the political system, a sense of humour is a safety valve that allows pent up personal and social pressures to escape. Humour can relax, relieve and release tension (not to mention pretension).
If humour isn't possible or it doesn't work in the circumstances, the person, the collective remains too highly-strung, too highly sprung. The joke is a spring, a coil that allows the situation to uncoil and the tension to dissipate. A joke is what allows a tree to bend and sway in the wind.
The Structure
Kundera tells his tale in seven separate parts, each of which is divided into sub-parts. Each part is narrated by one of the major characters, three men, and one woman (Helena). One of the other characters, Lucie, is a trigger point for much of the action. However, she doesn't tell her own story. Instead, the other characters shine a light on her from outside. We are never confident that we have gotten to know her. She remains elusive.
After publication, a Czech critic observed that there was a mathematical structure to the novel (that wasn't apparent to Kundera himself). If you broke the novel into 18 parts, Ludvik's monologue took up 12, Jaroslav three, Kostka two, and Helena one. I can't help picturing this as a fern-like fractal that furls and unfurls in the telling. Thus, the coiling and uncoiling of the joke (and its aftermath) is reflected in the structure of the novel.
The Punch Line
Apart from the joke, as Kundera states, the novel is a love story. We see most of it from Ludvik's twenty/thirty-something point of view. We see what he does to women and why. It's not always a pretty picture, but it is truthful. Ludvik's goal isn't always his own sexual pleasure or that of his companion. His relationship with Helena (whose story we hear from her) is motivated by revenge on a rival (which proves to be misconceived).
Some readers might complain about Ludvik's or Kundera's sexism and cruelty. However, overall, the design of the novel allows us to witness different perspectives in a polyphonic manner. When we see the situation from the other side(s), we learn that Ludvik might equally have been the victim of a cosmic joke.
[Both photos are stills from the 1969 film of the novel directed by Jaromil Jire?.]
The Recognition
"The Joke" is effectively a caveat against egotism, a warning against selfishness, especially in sexual relationships. In the Communist polit-speak used against Ludvik, it's a reproach of "traces of individualism" and "intellectual tendencies", the refusal to submit to the greater good (whether of the couple or of society). However, these traces and tendencies go further than Communist society, hence the broader ambitions Kundera had for his novel.
Whatever the political environment, Kundera describes a "depression over the bleakness of our erotic horizons".
How men in particular deal with this bleakness and depression reflects in their sexual behaviour. It's too easy for men to take it out on the woman closest to them.
Ludvik comments on "the incredible human capacity for transforming reality into a likeness of desires or ideals..." He describes the women in his life as angels and goddesses. There's a lack of reality in his perspective. Inevitably, it compromises the relationship itself:
"...a man may ask anything of a woman, but unless he wishes to appear a brute, he must make it possible for her to act in harmony with her deepest self-deceptions."
So women, equally, have desires and ideals that might misguide them. For both genders, then, desire is often founded in self-deceit, if not also the deceit of others.
The Vain Pursuit
Ludvik defines women in relation to himself and his own needs. Lucie's truth is hidden from Ludvik, because his gaze is single-mindedly selfish:
"I'd always taken comfort in seeing Lucie as something abstract, a legend and a myth, but now I realised that behind the poetry of my vision hid a starkly unpoetic reality; that I didn't know her as she actually was, in and of herself. All I'd been able to perceive (in my youthful egocentricity) was those aspects of her being touching directly on me (my loneliness, my captivity, my desire for tenderness and affection); she had never been anything more to me than a function of my situation, everything she was in her own right, had escaped me entirely."
Ultimately, Lucie reveals to Ludvik and via him to all men how much of their love is mere "vain pursuit". By extension, Kundera suggests that, both in our vanity and in our pursuit, we are the brunt of our own joke.
August 3, 2024
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January 9, 2025
Going into this, the last Kundera novel I had left to read, and knowing what he'd been like in regards to his treatment of women in other novels, I'd put my life on it that in here somewhere there would be either the threat of rape, attempted rape, an actual rape or, at the very least, some sort of other humiliation for one of his female characters. We pretty much get the lot. I swear this guy must have been given the cold shoulder by hundreds of women in his younger days to turn out the way he did in his novels. The Joke, his first, can be seen as both a love story - well, Kundera's idea of a love story anyway, and a political farce on Czechoslovakia in the 50s and early 60s. Kundera uses four narrative voices to clever effect, including Ludvik Jahn, the loyal Communist, whose prankish Trotsky joke at beginning of the novel lands him in deep water with the Party and his university, which sees him sent off to mines as a labourer. He has love affair with a timid girl called Lucie - who we would learn later was gang raped, and sneaks off one night to meet her, but is left annoyed by her lack of wanting to be intimate. Years later, an embittered Ludvik, plans a revenge mission on his old friend, Pavel; the one who denounced him, by coldly seducing his radio commentator wife, Helena, who arrives in a provincial town to meet Ludvik as well as interview Ludvik's old friend Jaroslav, who is trying to restore to past glory days the traditional folk ritual known as The Ride of the Kings. When the scene comes around of Ludvik trying to sexual humiliate Helena, it was one of the most intolerable things Kundera has ever done. It seemed to drag on for ages for his purpose only, like he was actually enjoying it. Then comes another truly embarrassing scene when Helena, after learning of Ludvik's real reason for wanting to bed her, takes an overdose of what she thinks is aspirins when it fact it was laxatives. Rushing to try and save her life, Ludvik bursts in on her on the toilet, and lets just say that she isn't exactly welcoming. What might have seemed like a thing to laugh about, in the manner that it was all presented, became more in the way of a wince. The thing is, taking the whole narrative into account, it's actually Ludvik that comes off the worst. The joke back fired, resulting in political ruin, and Pavel wasn't even bothered that he was trying to seduce his wife so the mission failed there too, thus, as Kundera puts it, man is condemned to triviality, as the tragedy lies in the fact that the joke has deprived him of the right to tragedy. I thought Kundera was great when focusing on Czech folk culture, and I could really see an affectionate and warm heart shining through, but the constant torment and molesting of his women is just starting to bore me now. With no more novels to read though, I won't have to put myself through it again. Overall, The Joke was certainly better than the last couple I read - The Farewell Party & Identity , but it doesn't lay a glove on the utter brilliance of immortality. That for me, now having read them all, comes out on top.
June 19, 2021
????????????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ???????
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????? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ????????
???? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???????
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????? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ????????
???? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???????
April 6, 2020
Personal relationships are paramount in life. At their best they can confirm the highest ideals we have about human life. Relationships are how we learn about ourselves. How we evolve, both as individuals and communities. How we learn about the world around us. Relationships are the most accessible source of inspiration. They can bring us to our knees; they can move us close to heaven. Personal relationships are our sacred text, our scripture. Every totalitarian state seeks to undermine the power of personal relationships. The party line takes precedence over every other consideration...
Early on, Ludvik is embroiled in a sexual power play with a girl he fancies. He's irritated by her earnest piety towards a Czech national hero - a resistance fighter who was murdered by the Nazis. He writes her a postcard with a facetious remark about this man. Soon, he is on trial. A friend of his adjudicates his case, finds him guilty and he is banished from the Communist party, the university and sent for political re-education. The postcard, in his eyes, was nothing more than a joke. Kundera does a good job of dramatizing the inevitable demoralisation and nihilism that a totalitarian state bleeds out, the fatal rifts in personal relationships it brings about. But…
I tire of Kundera's relentless hostility towards pop culture, motorbikes, leather jackets, youthful posturing. He just sounds like a grumpy old man full of bogus nostalgia for a reality that never existed. In this novel, he gives us what he thinks of as a better alternative: folk culture. Frankly, this element of the novel bored me silly. I also tire of his adolescent macho sexuality. I've defended him in my reviews of his later and much better novels but it's hard here. Ludvik's plan for revenging himself on the friend who tried and sentenced him is to sleep with his wife. The scene when this takes place is excruciating. I think in all his novels there's at least one scene in which a male sexually humiliates a female. Here, he goes way beyond what the plot demands in his exultant abuse of the (wholly innocent) female character. He also provides what sounds like excerpts from a self-help manual on how to seduce women which I found comically crass. Kundera the womaniser, like Kundera the cultural arbiter, is a crushing bore. He's not a good looking man, never was. You can't help wondering if the sexual passages of his novels are some sort of cathartic fantasy in which he's able to play a sexual role, both triumphant and vindictive, he was denied in real life.
I've just read Kundera snitched on someone to the communist regime which resulted in the individual spending 22 years in prison. That seals it for me - Milan Kundera gets my vote as the most unlikeable author out there. It's almost a shame he can also be a genius.
Early on, Ludvik is embroiled in a sexual power play with a girl he fancies. He's irritated by her earnest piety towards a Czech national hero - a resistance fighter who was murdered by the Nazis. He writes her a postcard with a facetious remark about this man. Soon, he is on trial. A friend of his adjudicates his case, finds him guilty and he is banished from the Communist party, the university and sent for political re-education. The postcard, in his eyes, was nothing more than a joke. Kundera does a good job of dramatizing the inevitable demoralisation and nihilism that a totalitarian state bleeds out, the fatal rifts in personal relationships it brings about. But…
I tire of Kundera's relentless hostility towards pop culture, motorbikes, leather jackets, youthful posturing. He just sounds like a grumpy old man full of bogus nostalgia for a reality that never existed. In this novel, he gives us what he thinks of as a better alternative: folk culture. Frankly, this element of the novel bored me silly. I also tire of his adolescent macho sexuality. I've defended him in my reviews of his later and much better novels but it's hard here. Ludvik's plan for revenging himself on the friend who tried and sentenced him is to sleep with his wife. The scene when this takes place is excruciating. I think in all his novels there's at least one scene in which a male sexually humiliates a female. Here, he goes way beyond what the plot demands in his exultant abuse of the (wholly innocent) female character. He also provides what sounds like excerpts from a self-help manual on how to seduce women which I found comically crass. Kundera the womaniser, like Kundera the cultural arbiter, is a crushing bore. He's not a good looking man, never was. You can't help wondering if the sexual passages of his novels are some sort of cathartic fantasy in which he's able to play a sexual role, both triumphant and vindictive, he was denied in real life.
I've just read Kundera snitched on someone to the communist regime which resulted in the individual spending 22 years in prison. That seals it for me - Milan Kundera gets my vote as the most unlikeable author out there. It's almost a shame he can also be a genius.
October 14, 2019
There was a time when a joke could force you into exile or send you to jail!
Nowadays you can make the most outrageous claims and actually mean them. If anybody calls you out on your complete lack of truth or empathy or both, you just say:
"Joke!"
And there won't be any consequences. The right to a disgusting sense of humour seems engraved in populist politicians' minds, and their sycophants are the master interpreters of jokes just like the secret police forces in the former Communist world were the official detectors of seriousness hidden behind witty word play. I wonder which of these two bizarre world concepts, both of which I have managed to experience in my own lifetime (and I am not entirely methuselah-aged yet!), is worse for humanity?
Loss of freedom to massive control of mind and body? Loss of accountability due to Orwellian Newspeak Joker carte blanche?
I am scared, and I am not joking!
Nowadays you can make the most outrageous claims and actually mean them. If anybody calls you out on your complete lack of truth or empathy or both, you just say:
"Joke!"
And there won't be any consequences. The right to a disgusting sense of humour seems engraved in populist politicians' minds, and their sycophants are the master interpreters of jokes just like the secret police forces in the former Communist world were the official detectors of seriousness hidden behind witty word play. I wonder which of these two bizarre world concepts, both of which I have managed to experience in my own lifetime (and I am not entirely methuselah-aged yet!), is worse for humanity?
Loss of freedom to massive control of mind and body? Loss of accountability due to Orwellian Newspeak Joker carte blanche?
I am scared, and I am not joking!
April 9, 2015
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April 22, 2019
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February 21, 2024
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April 3, 2024
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July 19, 2023
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May 25, 2017
"she had been caught stealing flowers in a cemetery."
You know the theory which speculates that married men are way funnier than unmarried one because they have got the punchline?
The above joke is a test of how satisfied men are from their marriages and must never be made in presence of wives, as some husbands have imprudence to laugh on it. But that is the thing about jokes. You don’t ‘make’ something funny, funny is already in air – in form of unhappy husbands (it won’t be funny to kids who know little about marriage), someone just discovers a way to poke at it.
Almost all humor is invoked by the fact that we are almost always trying hard to put up an act in one way or other; when something happens which reminds us of the reason we are putting the act, laughter becomes one of many possible responses. A non-vegetarian joke get you at sexual impulses that you won’t tell others about, the motion fails – people slipping, falling down etc are funny to people who are themselves most afraid of looking silly, it is people themselves spending time on their own appearances (and thus always with heavy makeup on) that make fun of how others look, the people who get George Carlin’s humor do so because they are themselves putting up happily with a people that they don’t think are ideal. I’m pretty sure some big philosopher gave this theory or something similar, I can’t recall who.
Now the thing is biggest acts humanity puts up with are five – nationalism, religion, political belief systems, property, and marriage. And they all prompt jokes both the good kind and the bad kind. In fact, anything which can be called an ‘institution’ will prompt a joke because all institutions make assumptions as to how you should perceive reality and how you should behave. Religious organizations will have you believe how God created the world, political ones will have you believe how their own values are best etc. Even elementary schools – brush your teeth daily, take bath daily etc. what is that about? I don’t bath for months and I’m doing just fine.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying one should do away with institutions but just that they kill individuality which is where hope for humanity lies – just look at the idea that requirements of 30 odd different students can be met in a single class by a single teacher at the same time! Personally, I believe, institutions should rather be like music instruments – with different kind of notes joining together to create music, for now, they are more like trying to make all buttons create same sound. Some of the members of the institution might actually believe in its one-size-fits-all value system while others are only putting up an act. Thus individuals are prompted to put an act - and thus leaving opportunities of humor.
It goes without saying that people with power over or interests in institutions don’t like humor. Remember that Queen Victoria’s ‘we are not amused’? Of course, you aren’t dear, it breaks the whole act. It is like emperor’s new clothes, they don't like reality.
"Now I understood why the king's face must be veiled! Not that he should not be seen, but that he should not see!"
And humor is the best way to point out the truth. If rightly done, it is the second most strongest of arguments – next only to silence.
"All I'm trying to say is that no great movement designed to change the world can bear sarcasm or mockery, because they are a rust that corrodes all it touches."
Soviet Socialism (which made 'revolution' into an institution) was no different from all this, only more so – telling people what to say and what to feel. Our protagonist is trying to pretend that he is a good socialist, but he senses the humor in air. Young as he was, it was only a matter of time before he ended up joking about it. The rulers obviously weren’t amused and so he is sentenced hard labor.
"And I was horrified at the thought that things conceived in error are just as real as things conceived with good reason and of necessity."
Of course, the ones who punished him were themselves putting up an act:
"They stood between life and death. They weren't petty. If they had read my postcard, they might have laughed."
And:
"I could see nothing but actors, their faces covered by masks of cretinous virility and arrogant brutishness; I found no extenuation in the thought that the masks hid another (more human) face, since the real horror seemed to lie in the fact that the faces beneath the masks were fiercely devoted to the inhumanity and coarseness of the masks."
The biggest comedian in the story though is fate who makes a joke of several people in the book thus providing a common theme to all stories.
This is a lot more than a political novel. Kundera manages to create parallels in personal and political lives of characters. I especially liked narrator's love story at Labour camp. I really liked Lucie's story.
"we kissed through a gap in the barbed wire."
A bit off the subject, but this is partially why I don't like RSS and BJP with their 'Hindu way of life'. I don't like the idea of anyone forcing any kind of lifestyle on anyone. Not they aren't full of absurdities. They have somehow convinced millions of people that in a country where millions of children are undernourished, women’s rights are screwed, students are committing suicide; we must not forget our priorities and save cows first. Now try making a joke about that! It is beyond humor, right? Gayen Hamari mata hai, aaghe kuch nahia aata hai. (Cow is our mama, know nothing more than that). You know what I don’t understand? They never seem to care about bull papas. I mean, do you know how screwed the sex ratios of cattle are is? Even the worst of bull papas can have a harem. Why do they don’t cry about that. Is it father issues or what? I mean holy cow that is sexist man! This can go on and on ... But on some other day.
Quotes:
"it's not your enemies who condemn you to solitude, it's your friends"
"When it is postponed, vengeance is transformed into something deceptive, into a personal religion, into a myth that recedes day by day from the people involved, who remain the same in the myth though in reality (the walkway is in constant motion) they long ago became different people."
"I merely squeezed the bottle in my palm and said to myself I'm holding my death in my hand, and I was enthralled by so much opportunity, it was like going step by step to an abyss, not to jump into it, just to look down."
"Because being brave in solitude, without witnesses, without the reward of others' approbation, face to face with himself, that took great pride and strength."
"If we looked back, we'd end up like Lot's wife."
"dog's yelp can't reach heaven."
"it occurred to me that when we were buying clothes in the summer we had forgotten that summer would end and cold weather come."
March 26, 2021
Thorns Thou Sow in the Garden of the Soul
I was surprisingly impressed with the depth, accessibility and enjoyability of this novel. The novel, published in 1967, apparently played a role in the 1968 Prague Spring of reforms and protests aimed at the stifling effects of Communism, crushed in the summer by invading forces from the Soviet Union.
The novel begins in early 1950s Czechoslovakia, with Ludvik Jahn, a university student with a great sense of humor and a strong supporter of the Communist regime after WW II. Attempting to show his girlfriend a bit of charm and a sense of humor over the summer when they are on break from classes, he wrote in a postcard to her: "Optimism is the opium of mankind! A healthy spirit stinks of stupidity! Long live Trotsky!" The party-liners, with zero sense of humor, did not get The Joke and expelled him from the "party" and the university, and forced him into a dissident’s re-education by means of two years hard labor in the mines.
Although he eventually gains decent success in his scientific profession, he harbors a grudge against party members who were responsible for his fall from grace. When he sees an opportunity to exact revenge on Zemanik who led the charge against him, Ludvik seduces Zemanik's wife and the joke may be on him, with the wife a "civilian" casualty.
I love the structure of this, Kundera's first novel, with three narrators. I'm not a big fan of some of his later metafictional ploys, as in , with his carrying the reader through his writing thought processes about the possibilities as he becomes a part of the novel as "author," not just narrator, which ruins my ability to temporarily suspend disbelief.
For me, this novel was outstanding at revealing the truth of the human condition that the "redressibility" of wrongs against us is generally impossible, and the others, including the perpetrator of the wrong, will have forgotten the misdeed anyway by the time you think you've gotten to the point of revenge. Thus one carries the poison of resentment around, as Oscar Wilde put it, as an "adder in one's breast" to "rise up every night to sow thorns in the garden of one's soul."
For this and other reasons, forgiveness is one major key in life's symphony of peace and joy. "...[T]o live in a world in which no one is forgiven, where all are irredeemable, is the same as living in hell." The Joke
I was surprisingly impressed with the depth, accessibility and enjoyability of this novel. The novel, published in 1967, apparently played a role in the 1968 Prague Spring of reforms and protests aimed at the stifling effects of Communism, crushed in the summer by invading forces from the Soviet Union.
The novel begins in early 1950s Czechoslovakia, with Ludvik Jahn, a university student with a great sense of humor and a strong supporter of the Communist regime after WW II. Attempting to show his girlfriend a bit of charm and a sense of humor over the summer when they are on break from classes, he wrote in a postcard to her: "Optimism is the opium of mankind! A healthy spirit stinks of stupidity! Long live Trotsky!" The party-liners, with zero sense of humor, did not get The Joke and expelled him from the "party" and the university, and forced him into a dissident’s re-education by means of two years hard labor in the mines.
Although he eventually gains decent success in his scientific profession, he harbors a grudge against party members who were responsible for his fall from grace. When he sees an opportunity to exact revenge on Zemanik who led the charge against him, Ludvik seduces Zemanik's wife and the joke may be on him, with the wife a "civilian" casualty.
I love the structure of this, Kundera's first novel, with three narrators. I'm not a big fan of some of his later metafictional ploys, as in , with his carrying the reader through his writing thought processes about the possibilities as he becomes a part of the novel as "author," not just narrator, which ruins my ability to temporarily suspend disbelief.
For me, this novel was outstanding at revealing the truth of the human condition that the "redressibility" of wrongs against us is generally impossible, and the others, including the perpetrator of the wrong, will have forgotten the misdeed anyway by the time you think you've gotten to the point of revenge. Thus one carries the poison of resentment around, as Oscar Wilde put it, as an "adder in one's breast" to "rise up every night to sow thorns in the garden of one's soul."
For this and other reasons, forgiveness is one major key in life's symphony of peace and joy. "...[T]o live in a world in which no one is forgiven, where all are irredeemable, is the same as living in hell." The Joke
December 3, 2018
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??? ???? ? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ? ???? ??? ???? ? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????. ????? ????? ?????? ? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?????. ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ???.
??? ????: ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??? ????? ( ? ). ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ???.
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?????? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ??????. ????? ???? "??? ??????" ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ? ????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???. ?? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ????? ? ??????? ????? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ?????????. ???? ????? ? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ? ?? ?? ??? ??????.
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???? ? ??? ????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ????? ??? ? ????? ???. ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ???.
??? ???? ? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ? ???? ??? ???? ? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????. ????? ????? ?????? ? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?????. ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ???.
April 29, 2007
I like Kundra because he doesn’t imprison me in a fastened frame of a classic narration. Reading Kundra seems as if you meet an old friend after ages in a cafe shop, and while she/he relates her / his life story, you zip your coffee, listen to the cafe music, hear some chats and laughs at nabouring tables, look at the peddlers at side walk, or a passing tramvay, … as life is flowing around, ….
?????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???. ?????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ? ?????? ???? ? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ? ???? ?? ? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ???????? ? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ...
???? ?? ????? ? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ???? 1370
?????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???. ?????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ? ?????? ???? ? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ? ???? ?? ? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ???????? ? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ...
???? ?? ????? ? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ???? 1370
August 13, 2020
"λ?νε διαφορα για τον κεραυνοβολο ?ρωτα, ξ?ρω πολ? καλ? ?τι ο ?ρωτα? ?χει την τ?ση να δημιουργε? ?να μ?θο γ?ρω απ τον εαυτ? του, να μυθοποιει εκ των υστ?ρων το ξεκ?νημα του.γιαυτ? και δε θα ισχυριζομουν πω? ?ταν ?ρωτα? απ'την αρχ?, λειτο?ργησε ?μω? πραγματικ? κ?τι σαν διορατικοτητα:κατ?λαβα, ?νιωσα, ε?δα αμ?σω?, διαμια?, την ουσ?α τη? Λουτσ?α?,? - ακριβ?στερα-αυτ? που ?γινε για μ?να στην πορε?α η Λουτσ?α:η λουτσ?α μου παρουσ?ασε η ?δια τον εαυτ? τη?, ?τσι ?πω? παρουσι?ζεται η εξ'αποκαλυψεω? αλ?θεια. "
Ο πρωταγωνιστ?? τη? ιστορ?α? μα? γρ?φει ?να αθ?ο σημε?ωμα σε μια φ?λη του που προορ?ζεται ω? κ?τι αναλαφρο, ω? ?να αστε?ο.. "Ο οπτιμισμο? ε?ναι το οπιο του λαο?. Το υγι?? πνε?μα βρωμ?ει βλακεια. Ζητ? ο Τρ?τσκι.". Σ?ντομα ?μω? θα καταλ?βει πω? στην εποχ? που ζει, ω? μ?λο? του Κ?μματο? και με την σοβαροφανια που χαρακτηρ?ζει π?ντα την πολιτικ?, τ?τοιου ε?δου? αστε?α δε γ?νονται ο?τε αντιληπτ? ο?τε δεκτ?. ?τσι ξεκιν? ?να ντ?μινο εξελ?ξεων απ? τον ?διο, με τη διαγραφ? του απ? το Κ?μμα και τη σχολ? του, την επιστρ?τευση του και με τη μ?θοδο των "κυματισμων", οι εξελ?ξει? επηρε?ζουν πολλ? ?λλα ?τομα που πληρ?νουν αυτ? το αστε?ο του Λο?ντβιχ...
Ο Κο?ντερα ε?ναι κορυφα?ο? στην σ?τιρα τη? πολιτικ?? και αυτ? εδ? ?σω? ε?ναι ?ντω? το πιο αστε?ο απ? τα βιβλ?α του, αφο? πραγματικ? κ?ποια ευτρ?πελα με ?καναν να γελ?σω μ?χρι δακρ?ων. ?λλωστε σε ?λη του τη βιβλιογραφ?α ο Κο?ντερα θ?τει ακριβ?? αυτ? το δ?λημμα στον εαυτ? του και τον αναγν?στη : η ζω? τελικ? αξ?ζει να την πα?ρνουμε στα σοβαρ?, η ε?ναι ?να ατελε?ωτο αστειο? Θεωρ? πω? μ?σα απ? τα γραφ?μενα του ο Κο?ντερα καταλ?γει πω? μ?νο αν αντιληφθε? κ?νει? την ελαφρ?τητα τη? ζω?? μπορει να προχωρ?σει και να την αντεξει, καθ?? ?σοι? εμμ?νουν στη σοβαροφανια και περνουν τη ζω? του? αποφασισμενοι να πα?ρνουν τα π?ντα τοι? μετρητο?? και να εκδικο?νται, σ?ντομα καταλ?γουν στο συμπ?ρασμα ?τι ?λα αυτ? ηταν ?να κακ?γουστο αστε?ο..
Ο πρωταγωνιστ?? τη? ιστορ?α? μα? γρ?φει ?να αθ?ο σημε?ωμα σε μια φ?λη του που προορ?ζεται ω? κ?τι αναλαφρο, ω? ?να αστε?ο.. "Ο οπτιμισμο? ε?ναι το οπιο του λαο?. Το υγι?? πνε?μα βρωμ?ει βλακεια. Ζητ? ο Τρ?τσκι.". Σ?ντομα ?μω? θα καταλ?βει πω? στην εποχ? που ζει, ω? μ?λο? του Κ?μματο? και με την σοβαροφανια που χαρακτηρ?ζει π?ντα την πολιτικ?, τ?τοιου ε?δου? αστε?α δε γ?νονται ο?τε αντιληπτ? ο?τε δεκτ?. ?τσι ξεκιν? ?να ντ?μινο εξελ?ξεων απ? τον ?διο, με τη διαγραφ? του απ? το Κ?μμα και τη σχολ? του, την επιστρ?τευση του και με τη μ?θοδο των "κυματισμων", οι εξελ?ξει? επηρε?ζουν πολλ? ?λλα ?τομα που πληρ?νουν αυτ? το αστε?ο του Λο?ντβιχ...
Ο Κο?ντερα ε?ναι κορυφα?ο? στην σ?τιρα τη? πολιτικ?? και αυτ? εδ? ?σω? ε?ναι ?ντω? το πιο αστε?ο απ? τα βιβλ?α του, αφο? πραγματικ? κ?ποια ευτρ?πελα με ?καναν να γελ?σω μ?χρι δακρ?ων. ?λλωστε σε ?λη του τη βιβλιογραφ?α ο Κο?ντερα θ?τει ακριβ?? αυτ? το δ?λημμα στον εαυτ? του και τον αναγν?στη : η ζω? τελικ? αξ?ζει να την πα?ρνουμε στα σοβαρ?, η ε?ναι ?να ατελε?ωτο αστειο? Θεωρ? πω? μ?σα απ? τα γραφ?μενα του ο Κο?ντερα καταλ?γει πω? μ?νο αν αντιληφθε? κ?νει? την ελαφρ?τητα τη? ζω?? μπορει να προχωρ?σει και να την αντεξει, καθ?? ?σοι? εμμ?νουν στη σοβαροφανια και περνουν τη ζω? του? αποφασισμενοι να πα?ρνουν τα π?ντα τοι? μετρητο?? και να εκδικο?νται, σ?ντομα καταλ?γουν στο συμπ?ρασμα ?τι ?λα αυτ? ηταν ?να κακ?γουστο αστε?ο..
June 21, 2019
Ο Μ?λαν Κο?ντερα δεν αν?κει ακριβ?? στου? αγαπημ?νου? μου συγγραφε??. Περισσ?τερο θα ?λεγα ?τι τον σ?βομαι για το ταλ?ντο του και για τα θ?ματα με τα οπο?α επιλ?γει να καταπι?νεται στα βιβλ?α του. Η Αβ?σταχτη Ελαφρ?τητα β?βαια αν?κει ξεκ?θαρα στα αγαπημ?να μου βιβλ?α μου γιατ? διαβ?στηκε λ?γο μετ? την εφηβε?α και με σημ?δεψε με τρ?πο μοναδικ?.
Το Αστε?ο κατ?φερε και αυτ? να χτυπ?σει κ?ποιε? ευα?σθητε? χορδ?? χωρ?? να ε?ναι τη? παρο?ση? οι προσωπικ?? λεπτομ?ρειε?.
Αν κρατ?σουμε μ?α απ?σταση απ? την ζω? μα? θα δο?με ε?κολα ?τι πολλ? και κομβικ? θ?ματα προ?κυψαν ? κατ?ληξαν σε ?να αστε?ο. Το αστε?ο β?βαια ?πω? το εννοε? ο συγγραφ?α? μπορε? να π?ρει πολλ?? μορφ??. Αυτ? τη? ειρωνε?α?, τη? τραγικ?? ειρωνε?α?, τη? σ?μπτωση?, του ασ?μαντου αστε?ου και των τυχα?ων γεγον?των.
Πολλ?? φορ?? β?βαια τα Αστε?α καταλ?γουν να πον?νε γιατ? γ?νονται πικρ?? συνειδητοποι?σει? μια? ζω?? που κ?ποτε στηρ?χθηκε στα ιδανικ?, μετ? τα ιδανικ? γκρεμ?στηκαν, μετ? εμε?? γ?ναμε σκληρ?τεροι για να επιβι?σουμε, αναζητ?σαμε εκδ?κηση, λ?τρωση και κ?που εκε? χ?σαμε ο, τι κοντιν?τερο ε?χαμε σε αθω?τητα.
Δεν ακο?γεται και τ?σο Αστε?ο αλλ? κ?ποια στιγμ? ?λοι διαν?ουμε αυτ? τη διαδρομ? και καλ? ε?ναι να υπ?ρχουν βιβλ?α σαν αυτ? που μα? ?χουν προετοιμ?σει ?σο γ?νεται.
Αξ?ζει να διαβαστε?, κυρ?ω? για ?σα λ?ει αν?μεσα στι? γραμμ??.
Το Αστε?ο κατ?φερε και αυτ? να χτυπ?σει κ?ποιε? ευα?σθητε? χορδ?? χωρ?? να ε?ναι τη? παρο?ση? οι προσωπικ?? λεπτομ?ρειε?.
Αν κρατ?σουμε μ?α απ?σταση απ? την ζω? μα? θα δο?με ε?κολα ?τι πολλ? και κομβικ? θ?ματα προ?κυψαν ? κατ?ληξαν σε ?να αστε?ο. Το αστε?ο β?βαια ?πω? το εννοε? ο συγγραφ?α? μπορε? να π?ρει πολλ?? μορφ??. Αυτ? τη? ειρωνε?α?, τη? τραγικ?? ειρωνε?α?, τη? σ?μπτωση?, του ασ?μαντου αστε?ου και των τυχα?ων γεγον?των.
Πολλ?? φορ?? β?βαια τα Αστε?α καταλ?γουν να πον?νε γιατ? γ?νονται πικρ?? συνειδητοποι?σει? μια? ζω?? που κ?ποτε στηρ?χθηκε στα ιδανικ?, μετ? τα ιδανικ? γκρεμ?στηκαν, μετ? εμε?? γ?ναμε σκληρ?τεροι για να επιβι?σουμε, αναζητ?σαμε εκδ?κηση, λ?τρωση και κ?που εκε? χ?σαμε ο, τι κοντιν?τερο ε?χαμε σε αθω?τητα.
Δεν ακο?γεται και τ?σο Αστε?ο αλλ? κ?ποια στιγμ? ?λοι διαν?ουμε αυτ? τη διαδρομ? και καλ? ε?ναι να υπ?ρχουν βιβλ?α σαν αυτ? που μα? ?χουν προετοιμ?σει ?σο γ?νεται.
Αξ?ζει να διαβαστε?, κυρ?ω? για ?σα λ?ει αν?μεσα στι? γραμμ??.
July 18, 2019
??????? ???????? "????" ?? 400 ???? ? 7 ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????????? ?????????? ??? ?????? ??????.... ??? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????????? ????? ????.. ??? ????????? ??? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ? ???? ?? ???? ?? ? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ? ?? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??? ???... ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ? ???? ???? ???? ????? ? ?? ???? ? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????????? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ????????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ????... ???? ?? ??????? "????" ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ?????????? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ? ???? ????????? ?????? ????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ????????? ? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ?????... ? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ????? 57? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ? ???? ???? ?????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????? ? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ????????? ? ??????? ????? ????
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?????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ???... ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???... ??? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?????... ?????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ?????.. ?????? ???? ??? ??? ? ??? ? ?????? ???????? ????? ????... ?? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????.. ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???? ????? ????? ? ?????? ?? ??? ? ???? ?????? ??? ? ????? ???? ???????... ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??????? ? ???? ?? ???????: ???????? ?????? (?????) ???? ????.. ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?????.. ???? ?? ???????... ??????
?????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ? ????????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ?? ? ???? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????.. ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????... ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ??? ? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????... ???????? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ? ?? ??????? ? ??? ????? ?????... ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ? ???????? ?? ??????... ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ? ??????? ? ??????? ? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ????????... ????? ???? ??????? ???? ? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ???????? ? ????? ???? ??????????? ????? ???????.. ???????? ?? ???????? ???? ?????? ? ??? ??????? ????!! ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ????? ??????... ?? ???? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ? ??... ?????? ? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ? ????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ? ????? ???? ?? ????? ? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ? ????? ?? ?? ??? ????.. ?????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ? ????? ????
?????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???.. ?? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ???.. ?? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ? ???? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ?? ? ????? ???
??? ?????? ???????.. ??? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ? ???? ???.. ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ?????????? ????? ????? ??? ????... ?????? ?? ?????????? ????? ????? ?????.. ??? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ? ?? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??????... ??? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ???.. ???? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ????.. ???? ????? ????? ?????? ??????... ???? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ? ???????? ?????? ?? ???? ????... ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ? ?? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ?????... ????? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ???? 19 ???? ???? ?????.. ????? ?? ????????? ???? ??? ? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ????... ??? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????? ???
???? ? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ????? ? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???!! ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ... ???????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ????
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???? ?? ?? ????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ????
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?? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??? ? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ??????? ????? ?????... ????? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???... ????? ?? ????? ???????????? ???? ???? ? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ????????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ????.. ???? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??.. ???? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ? ????? ?? ?????
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???????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ? ???? ???? ????
?????? ????? ? ???????
July 3, 2018
Πολυσχιδ??, πολυδιαστατο, ευφυε?, ενδιαφερον, το Αστειο του Κουντερα (για τον οποιο ηξερα ηδη πω? ειναι ενα? απ του? αγαπημενου? μου συγγραφει? για την πλουσια, ειλικρινη και νατουραλιστικη γλωσσα του και για την οξυδερκη και ελαφρω? ειρωνικη ματια του πανω στην γκριζα πραγματικοτητα) ειναι ενα βιβλιο που μιλαει για ολα: Για τον κομμουνισμο, την σκληρη κι αγελαστη ζωη μεσα σ αυτο το καθεστω?, τον ελπιδοφορο ερωτα που ειναι το αντιθετο του σαρκικου, τα ονειρα που ψαλιδιζονται, την αβασταχτη ελαφριοτητα τη? νεοτητα? και πω? αυτη δεν συγχωρειται απο την κοινωνια, μιλαει ακομη για τον γαμο, την μοιχεια, το παγιδευμα των ανθρωπων μεσα στι? νορμε? τη? κοινωνια?, μιλαει για την Ιστορια και την Μουσικη και την καθημερινη ζωη.... μιλαει για ολα με ανοιχτα χαρτια, χωρι? να κρυβει την ασχημια, αλλα ουτε και την ομορφια, χωρι? να ωραιοποιει αλλα ουτε και να λυπαται. Ο αφηγητη? αλλαζει προσωπο σε καθε κεφαλαιο, και αλλαζει συνεπακολουθα σε καθε ενοτητα η οπτικη, η αντιληψη περι ζωη? και πραγματικοτητα?, το γραψιμο, ο τροπο? εκφραση? - σαν συλλογικο εργο, σαν ν αλλαζει ο συγγραφεα? σε καθε κεφαλαιο.
Κραταιο βιβλιο του 20ου αιωνα που δεν αφηνει να ξεχαστει η Ιστορια, αυτο? ο "λεπτο? σπαγγο? μνημη? μεσα στον ωκεανο τη? ληθη?"
Κραταιο βιβλιο του 20ου αιωνα που δεν αφηνει να ξεχαστει η Ιστορια, αυτο? ο "λεπτο? σπαγγο? μνημη? μεσα στον ωκεανο τη? ληθη?"
November 19, 2022
Dieser Roman kommt unscheinbaren daher: ?Der Scherz“. Dabei h?tte er einen gro?en Titel wie ?Schuld und Vergebung“, ?Kerker und Freiheit“ oder ?Unverst?ndnis und Einsicht“ verdient. Denn dies sind die eigentlichen Themen dieses gro?en Romans. In diesen Dimensionen entwickelt sich über knapp 2 Jahrzehnte die Geschichte des intellektuellen Ludvik, der einfachen Arbeiterin Lucie, des Katholiken Kostka, der Mitl?uferin Helena und des volksnahen Jaroslav. Die Handlung spielt in der heute nicht mehr existierenden Tschechoslowakei, genauer gesagt im Landesteil M?hren, und hier vor allem in der Bergbaustadt Ostrava und eine Provinzstadt in der m?hrischen Slowakei, vermutlich Uherské Hradi?tě statt. Dort gibt es noch den geheimnisvollen Brauch des Ritts der K?nige, bei dem ein als Frau verkleideter Junge mit einer Blume in Mund mit seinem Gefolge durch die Stra?en zieht.
Anl?sslich dieses Festes kommt es denn auch zum gro?en Showdown zwischen Helena, Ludvik und Jaroslav. Die Geschichte zwischen Ludvik, Lucie und Kostka l?st sich kurz zuvor auf. Zeitlich bewegen wir uns zwischen der kurzen demokratischen Phase des Landes nach dem 2. Weltkrieg, dem kommunistischen Umsturz im Februar 1948 und den nachfolgenden stalinistischen Repressionen bis in das Vorfeld des Prager Frühlings in der zweiten H?lfte der 60er Jahre.
Kann ein Roman heute noch ?funktionieren“, der vor mehr als einem halben Jahrhundert geschrieben wurde und in einem Land und einer Gesellschaftsordnung spielt, die nicht mehr existieren? Der Scherz kann es. Seine Aussagen sind exemplarisch, aber von allgemeiner Gültigkeit. So stellt Kostka fest In einer Welt zu leben, in der niemandem vergeben wird, wo alle unerl?sbar sind, ist dasselbe, wie in der H?lle zu leben. Hier überschneiden sich der katholische Gedanke der Sündenvergebung durch Beichte und Bu?e mit dem sozialistischen Ritual der Selbstkritik und L?uterung durch k?rperlicher Arbeit inmitten der werkt?tigen Bev?lkerung. Als noch zentraler empfand ich aber dieses Zitat: Ich will nur sagen, dass keine gro?e Bewegung, die die Welt ver?ndern soll, L?cherlichmachung und Herabsetzung duldet, denn das ist der Rost, der alles zerfri?t. Insofern ist der Titel also richtig gew?hlt und zugleich ist Kundera in diesem 1967 erschienenen Buch der Prophet kommender Ereignisse, denn wie wir wissen, konnte das Regime die Kritik und Zuschaustellung seiner Auswüchse w?hrend des Prager Frühlings tats?chlich nicht erdulden.
Anl?sslich dieses Festes kommt es denn auch zum gro?en Showdown zwischen Helena, Ludvik und Jaroslav. Die Geschichte zwischen Ludvik, Lucie und Kostka l?st sich kurz zuvor auf. Zeitlich bewegen wir uns zwischen der kurzen demokratischen Phase des Landes nach dem 2. Weltkrieg, dem kommunistischen Umsturz im Februar 1948 und den nachfolgenden stalinistischen Repressionen bis in das Vorfeld des Prager Frühlings in der zweiten H?lfte der 60er Jahre.
Kann ein Roman heute noch ?funktionieren“, der vor mehr als einem halben Jahrhundert geschrieben wurde und in einem Land und einer Gesellschaftsordnung spielt, die nicht mehr existieren? Der Scherz kann es. Seine Aussagen sind exemplarisch, aber von allgemeiner Gültigkeit. So stellt Kostka fest In einer Welt zu leben, in der niemandem vergeben wird, wo alle unerl?sbar sind, ist dasselbe, wie in der H?lle zu leben. Hier überschneiden sich der katholische Gedanke der Sündenvergebung durch Beichte und Bu?e mit dem sozialistischen Ritual der Selbstkritik und L?uterung durch k?rperlicher Arbeit inmitten der werkt?tigen Bev?lkerung. Als noch zentraler empfand ich aber dieses Zitat: Ich will nur sagen, dass keine gro?e Bewegung, die die Welt ver?ndern soll, L?cherlichmachung und Herabsetzung duldet, denn das ist der Rost, der alles zerfri?t. Insofern ist der Titel also richtig gew?hlt und zugleich ist Kundera in diesem 1967 erschienenen Buch der Prophet kommender Ereignisse, denn wie wir wissen, konnte das Regime die Kritik und Zuschaustellung seiner Auswüchse w?hrend des Prager Frühlings tats?chlich nicht erdulden.
February 5, 2021
"Because to live in a world in which no one is forgiven and all redemption is impossible is to live in Hell."
- Milan Kundera, The Joke
"And that is the Joke: a melancholy duet about the schism between the body and the soul."
- Milan Kundera, preface to The Joke
I liked it. It wasn't my favorite and somethings were probably lost in translation (actually, according to Kundera in 4/5 of the translations of this book things were definitely lost/changed. But I loved it. There were chapters and paragraphs that definitely hit hard. There are parts of Communist Czechoslovakia that feel a bit like late-stage Capitalism: the cancelling of enemies, the superficiality, the corruption of religion and ideology, and how people feel both lost and abandoned. But still, this book is also, according to Kundera, a love story so we can't forget about that. And like all Kundera novels it floats in zones between spirituality and corporality, between mysticism and rationalism, between philosophy and emotion.
Not done. But done enough.
- Milan Kundera, The Joke
"And that is the Joke: a melancholy duet about the schism between the body and the soul."
- Milan Kundera, preface to The Joke
I liked it. It wasn't my favorite and somethings were probably lost in translation (actually, according to Kundera in 4/5 of the translations of this book things were definitely lost/changed. But I loved it. There were chapters and paragraphs that definitely hit hard. There are parts of Communist Czechoslovakia that feel a bit like late-stage Capitalism: the cancelling of enemies, the superficiality, the corruption of religion and ideology, and how people feel both lost and abandoned. But still, this book is also, according to Kundera, a love story so we can't forget about that. And like all Kundera novels it floats in zones between spirituality and corporality, between mysticism and rationalism, between philosophy and emotion.
Not done. But done enough.
July 2, 2020
Let me be perfectly honest — I was a man of many faces
They were all real
I had several faces because I was young and didn't know who I was or wanted to be
She was constitutionally unable to look behind anything; she could only see the thing itself
Optimism is the opium of the people! A healthy atmosphere stinks of stupidity! Long live Trotsky!
A nihilist likes a good laugh, said one of them. He laughs at people who suffer
The only human bond we had was our uncertain future
Slowly I came to realize that there was no power capable of changing the image of my person lodged in the supreme court of human destinies
Letters written by parents are messages from a shore we are forsaking; all they can do is make us aware of how far we have strayed from the port we left, enveloped in the selfless devotion of our loved ones. Yes, their letters say, the port still exists, it's still there in all its comforting, pristine beauty; but the road back, the way back is lost
Nothing brings people together more quickly and easily than shared melancholy
It's not easy to live with people willing to send you to exile or death, it's not easy to become intimate with them, it's not easy to love them
All the basic situations in life occur only once
As it turned out, nothing was in my hands. Neither our estrangement nor our reunion was in my hands
So I hope that they were in the hands of time
In my view newspaper have one extraordinary attribute — they make no noise
Their tediousness is silent; they can be put aside, thrown into the wastebasket
The tediousness of radio lacks that extenuating attribute; it persecutes us in cafes, restaurants, trains, even during our visits to people who have become incapable of living without nonstop feeding of the ear
My mistrust is so entrenched that when someone starts listing his likes and dislikes I am unable to take it seriously, or to put it more precisely, I can accept it only as an indication of the person’s self-image
Once more I was amazed by the incredible human capacity for transforming reality into a likeness of desires or ideals
I longed for her to be gone; for her body to dematerialize, melt, turn into a stream and flow away, or evaporate and vanish out the window
You became bitter to the depth of your soul, convinced of the great injustice done you. That sense of injustice still determines every step you take
Other people are mere walking mirrors in which he is amazed to find his own emotions, his own worth
And this seeming unreality made me think that everything around me was not present but the past
My entire life, it seemed to me, had always been overpopulated by shadows
Where sorrow is not lightness, laughter is not grimace, love is not laughable
Where love is still love and pain is still pain, where values are not yet devastated
And it seemed to me that inside these songs I was at home
They were all real
I had several faces because I was young and didn't know who I was or wanted to be
She was constitutionally unable to look behind anything; she could only see the thing itself
Optimism is the opium of the people! A healthy atmosphere stinks of stupidity! Long live Trotsky!
A nihilist likes a good laugh, said one of them. He laughs at people who suffer
The only human bond we had was our uncertain future
Slowly I came to realize that there was no power capable of changing the image of my person lodged in the supreme court of human destinies
Letters written by parents are messages from a shore we are forsaking; all they can do is make us aware of how far we have strayed from the port we left, enveloped in the selfless devotion of our loved ones. Yes, their letters say, the port still exists, it's still there in all its comforting, pristine beauty; but the road back, the way back is lost
Nothing brings people together more quickly and easily than shared melancholy
It's not easy to live with people willing to send you to exile or death, it's not easy to become intimate with them, it's not easy to love them
All the basic situations in life occur only once
As it turned out, nothing was in my hands. Neither our estrangement nor our reunion was in my hands
So I hope that they were in the hands of time
In my view newspaper have one extraordinary attribute — they make no noise
Their tediousness is silent; they can be put aside, thrown into the wastebasket
The tediousness of radio lacks that extenuating attribute; it persecutes us in cafes, restaurants, trains, even during our visits to people who have become incapable of living without nonstop feeding of the ear
My mistrust is so entrenched that when someone starts listing his likes and dislikes I am unable to take it seriously, or to put it more precisely, I can accept it only as an indication of the person’s self-image
Once more I was amazed by the incredible human capacity for transforming reality into a likeness of desires or ideals
I longed for her to be gone; for her body to dematerialize, melt, turn into a stream and flow away, or evaporate and vanish out the window
You became bitter to the depth of your soul, convinced of the great injustice done you. That sense of injustice still determines every step you take
Other people are mere walking mirrors in which he is amazed to find his own emotions, his own worth
And this seeming unreality made me think that everything around me was not present but the past
My entire life, it seemed to me, had always been overpopulated by shadows
Where sorrow is not lightness, laughter is not grimace, love is not laughable
Where love is still love and pain is still pain, where values are not yet devastated
And it seemed to me that inside these songs I was at home
December 22, 2017
Μπορε? το πρωτ?λειο ?ργο να ε?ναι μεστ?, σφιχτοδεμ?νο, λυρικ? και ισοπεδωτικ?, χωρ?? ?τσαλε? μουτζαλι??, παθιασμ?νο, ανατρεπτικ?, πολιτικ?, ερωτικ?, ανθρωπιστικ?, πονεμ?νο, ευρ?; Διαβ?στε το!
Read
September 5, 2017There was a time when I read a lot of Milan Kundera but with the exception of they have blended together in my memory.
The novel is a twist on a revenge novel like . There has been a wrong here too, and the perpetrator of it has moved in on the Hero's love. The digging though, is part of the punishment and not a means to escape. The twist is that the attempt at revenge goes awry .
What we see instead is a series of contrasts between the plans, hopes and expectations that people lay upon those who surround them and how all of them go miss as people slip out of the roles intended for them.
The last joke in the novel will amuse most those who find the idea of people taking laxatives accidentally funny (what! the idea doesn't make you smile, why it was only his pride that was hurt).
The novel is a twist on a revenge novel like . There has been a wrong here too, and the perpetrator of it has moved in on the Hero's love. The digging though, is part of the punishment and not a means to escape. The twist is that the attempt at revenge goes awry .
What we see instead is a series of contrasts between the plans, hopes and expectations that people lay upon those who surround them and how all of them go miss as people slip out of the roles intended for them.
The last joke in the novel will amuse most those who find the idea of people taking laxatives accidentally funny (what! the idea doesn't make you smile, why it was only his pride that was hurt).
April 7, 2022
Un abisso di malinconia e nostalgia.
February 14, 2025
Das herausragende Merkmal dieses Romans ist die Komposition: Kundera w?hlt neben dem Protagonisten Ludvik drei weiter Perspektivfiguren, die jeweils nicht nur Randfiguren in Ludviks Geschichte sind, sondern ihre eigenen Geschichten, Pr?gungen, Motive mitbringen. Daraus zieht der Roman seine Vielschichtigkeit, die sich nicht nur auf Systemkritik an den kommunistischen Apperatschiks, die wegen des titelgebenden Scherzes Ludviks Existenz zerst?ren, bezieht. An Ludviks Beziehung zu Lucie etwa stellt er das komplexe Verh?ltnis von Liebe und Begehren dar, in Kostkas Liebe zu Lucie die wahre Liebe unter den Vorzeichen von Empathie und Verst?ndnis, an Jaroslav das verbissene Festhalten an der Tradition in einem sich fortschrittlich geb?rdenden, aber letztlich verkrusteten System, an Ludviks Verh?ltnis zu Helena die Hohlheit seines Wunsches nach Vergeltung. Dies transportiert Kundera in einer flie?enden Sprache voller tiefer Einsichten, die insbesondere Ludviks inneren Lernprozess veranschaulichen.
May 4, 2011
????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ??? "???????" ???? "????? ?????" ..
?? ???? ??????? ?????????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????.??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? "?????" ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???????. ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ???????.
???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?????. ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? "?????" ??????. ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ???????.
?? ???? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?
??? ?? ???.
?? ????? ???? ????? ??? "????????" ?? ???????? ?????????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ????????. ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ..
??????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????. ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ..
?? ???? ??????? ?????????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????.??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? "?????" ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???????. ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ???????.
???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?????. ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? "?????" ??????. ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ???????.
?? ???? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?
??? ?? ???.
?? ????? ???? ????? ??? "????????" ?? ???????? ?????????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ????????. ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ..
??????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????. ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ..
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