Joke

Author: Milan Kundera
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-06-01
Features: Young intellectual Ludvik is framed by his friend Zemaneck for a joke with his girlfriend and sent to a penal camp. Upon his return, he plans to revenge Zemaneck by seducing his wife, Helena. After the plan succeeds, he discovers that Zemaneck had already wanted to abandon his wife, and his revenge becomes a useless "joke." Kundera says, "Deceived by the voice of utopia, they desperately push through the gates of heaven, but when the gates slam shut behind them, they realize they are in hell. Such moments make me feel that history always loves to laugh." Since Kundera gained fame with The Joke in 1960, he has won six international awards and created a remarkable impact worldwide. Aragon called him "the greatest novelist of the century"; The Washington Post called him "one of the most outstanding and entertaining novelists in the West and East." I also know very well that once I cross that line, I am no longer myself, but someone else—a person I don’t know. This terrifying transformation fills me with fear, so I have been desperately seeking love in intense feelings of loss. This love should allow me to continue living in the same love for the past and the present, because I don’t want to split my life in half—I want it to flow seamlessly from beginning to end.
Does personal history reveal anything beyond its occurrence? Despite my skepticism, I still cling to a bit of irrational superstition, such as the firm belief that every event that happens to me has meaning, indicating something; and that life speaks to us through its own history, gradually revealing a secret, like a cryptogram for us to decipher. The various histories we have experienced together form a myth of life, and within this myth lies the key to unlocking mysteries and truths. Is this illusion? It might even be true, but I cannot suppress my desire to continuously unravel the mysteries of my own life.