A review by snoodster
The Joke by Milan Kundera

2.0

I was excited to read another book by Milan Kundera after reading "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". Unfortunately I had a hard time staying interested in this book. I really enjoyed the whole section where Ludvik is working in the mines, but I got less and less from there on. It seemed like it dragged on from there. Nostalgia for folk culture is an important part of the book, but I don't think that I felt what the author wanted me to feel with the folk music and the king's day celebration. This book really dwells on negativity--especially during the sex scene between Ludvik and Helena which was depicted in a really jarring way. I did not get shivers reading this book.