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megmerante 's review for:
The Joke
by Milan Kundera
Each time I read a book by Kundera, I am fascinated at how seamlessly he works in definitions of human nature and defines the cause and effect (in this book it primarily deals with trauma, but it can essentially be any event from the past), so clearly and effectively that his characters deserve to be published as case studies in psychoanalytic textbooks. For example: "...I was amazed by the incredible human capacity for transforming reality into a likeness of desires or ideals." (181).
None of his male characters in this book were very likeable, but I was drawn in anyway - particularly with the masks narrative - and how the narrators themselves did not know who they truly were, or the relation between their self-image and their desired constructed image/mask, either by themselves or with their lovers, until the end of the novel, when they finally learned the true extent of the haunting of their pasts. If you decide to read 'The Joke,' or any of Kundera's books, be prepared to feel drained when you are through, as his insight into the human condition and other issues cause for many hours of self-reflection.
One of my favorite quotes... one of the more cheerful ones in the book: "Life is beautiful, and we can never celebrate it enough" (183).
None of his male characters in this book were very likeable, but I was drawn in anyway - particularly with the masks narrative - and how the narrators themselves did not know who they truly were, or the relation between their self-image and their desired constructed image/mask, either by themselves or with their lovers, until the end of the novel, when they finally learned the true extent of the haunting of their pasts. If you decide to read 'The Joke,' or any of Kundera's books, be prepared to feel drained when you are through, as his insight into the human condition and other issues cause for many hours of self-reflection.
One of my favorite quotes... one of the more cheerful ones in the book: "Life is beautiful, and we can never celebrate it enough" (183).