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A review by theeuphoriczat
The Joke by Milan Kundera
4.0
It is best to go into this book knowing very little, so I will try as much as possible to give a scant description of the plot. We follow 4 POVs, with Ludvik the main character. When Ludvik send out what he considers a harmless joke to his girlfriend, he some finds himself ostracized from his school, his family and his friends. People he thought to be his friends and colleagues turned their back on him and soon he began to realise that his thoughtless Joke was a lot more and his actual life for at risk. He is expelled from school and sent to a military camp meant for people who the government were suspicious of. This is where he meets another girl Lucie, the relationship is too rapey (no he didn't rape her) and overly coercive.
As he continues to grow older, his resentment continues to grow and he devised a plan to get back at the people who lead the 'crusade' against him when he was in school. As we watch him use seduction and sex as a means of enslavement, not just of the other party but of himself, I got to realize that the real Joke, was actually Ludvik wasting his life away with his heart filled with resentment.
There are so many takes on religion and relationships and I think it is a really worthy read.
Some of my favourite quotes
"love was different nowadays, a support in battle rather than an escape from the world"
"Optimism is the opium of the people"
"love has a tendency to make a legend of itself"
"Turning points in the evolution of love are not always the result of dramatic events; they often stem from something that at first seems completely inconsequential."
"Responsibility was unthinkable without freedom"
"Modern man cheats. He tries to get around all the milestones on the road from birth to death"
"I loved life, and for the sake of its beauty I went to war"Fucik's Notes from the Gallows
"One's destiny is often complete long before death"
Trigger Warning
Youth
Religion
Ignorance
Jokes
Communism
Imperialism
Sexual assault
As he continues to grow older, his resentment continues to grow and he devised a plan to get back at the people who lead the 'crusade' against him when he was in school. As we watch him use seduction and sex as a means of enslavement, not just of the other party but of himself, I got to realize that the real Joke, was actually Ludvik wasting his life away with his heart filled with resentment.
There are so many takes on religion and relationships and I think it is a really worthy read.
Some of my favourite quotes
"love was different nowadays, a support in battle rather than an escape from the world"
"Optimism is the opium of the people"
"love has a tendency to make a legend of itself"
"Turning points in the evolution of love are not always the result of dramatic events; they often stem from something that at first seems completely inconsequential."
"Responsibility was unthinkable without freedom"
"Modern man cheats. He tries to get around all the milestones on the road from birth to death"
"I loved life, and for the sake of its beauty I went to war"Fucik's Notes from the Gallows
"One's destiny is often complete long before death"
Trigger Warning
Youth
Religion
Ignorance
Jokes
Communism
Imperialism
Sexual assault