54 pages • 1 hour read
The Joke
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Joke is a novel by Czech author Milan Kundera. Released in 1967, it tells the story of Ludvik Jahn and his life under the Czech communist regime. The novel has been celebrated as one of the most important literary works of the 20th century. A 1968 film adaptation by director Jaromil Jires was banned in Eastern European cinemas. The Joke was Kundera’s first novel in his long and distinguished career. He received the Jerusalem Prize and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, as well as the international Herder Prize, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature multiple times. He also published short stories, essays, poetry, and plays. Other works by Kundera include The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Festival of Insignificance.
This guide refers to the 1992 HarperCollins edition, translated into English by Aaron Asher.
Content Warning: This guide discusses suicide, suicidal ideation, an attempted rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
Plot Summary
The Joke is set against the backdrop of post-World War II Czechoslovakia under the communist regime. It is told in a nonlinear Unlock all 54 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
Related Titles
By Milan Kundera
