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The Joke
- Narrated by: Richmond Hoxie
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
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The Joke
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Summary
All too often, this brilliant novel of thwarted love and revenge miscarried has been read for its political implications. Now, a quarter century after The Joke was first published and several years after the collapse of the Soviet-imposed Czechoslovak regime, it becomes easier to put such implications into perspective in favor of valuing the book (and all Kundera 's work) as what it truly is: great, stirring literature that sheds new light on the eternal themes of human existence.
The present audio edition provides English-language listeners an important further means toward revaluation of The Joke. For reasons he describes in his Author's Note, Milan Kundera devoted much time to creating (with the assistance of his American publisher-editor) a completely revised translation that reflects his original as closely as any translation possibly can: reflects it in its fidelity not only to the words and syntax but also to the characteristic dictions and tonalities of the novel's narrators. The result is nothing less than the restoration of a classic.
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Critic reviews
"Kundera is the saddest, funniest, and most lovable of authors." (The Times)
What listeners say about The Joke
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 04-12-20
Excellently written, gives nod to male chauvinism
Very well written and very interesting context. incredible insight in to communist and post communist Czechoslovakia. Cannot remove myself from my disdain of treatment of women in life and literature at time of writing.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Evans, Nick
- 20-07-23
Dreadful translation and pronunciation.
Completely ruined by translator not knowing the difference between adverbs and adjectives amongst other issues. Reader makes no attempt to pronounce Czech names properly.
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