Quotes from work
The Joke

The Joke
Milan KunderaOriginal title Žert (Czech, 1967)

The Joke is Milan Kundera's first novel, originally published in 1967.

Milan Kundera photo

“But which was the real me? Let me be perfectly honest: I was a man of many faces. (p.33)”

Milan Kundera The Joke

Source: The Joke

Milan Kundera photo

“I understood that there was no escaping the memories, that I was surround by them. (p.30)”

Milan Kundera The Joke

Source: The Joke

Milan Kundera photo

“I was not a hypocrite, with one real face and several false ones. I had several faces because I was young and didn't know who I was or wanted to be.”

Milan Kundera The Joke

Source: The Joke

Milan Kundera photo

“Optimism is the opium of the people.”

Milan Kundera The Joke

Source: The Joke (1967)

Milan Kundera photo

“No act is of itself either good or bad. Only its place in the order of things makes it good or bad.”

Milan Kundera The Joke

Žádné pocínání není samo o sobe dohré ani zlé. Teprve jeho místo v rádu ciní je dobrým ci zlým.
The Joke (1967)

Milan Kundera photo

“Nothing is more repugnant to me than brotherly feelings grounded in the common baseness people see in one another.”

Milan Kundera The Joke

The Joke (1967)

Milan Kundera photo

“No great movement designed to change the world can bear to be laughed at or belittled. Mockery is a rust that corrodes all it touches.”

Milan Kundera The Joke

The Joke (1967)

Similar authors

Milan Kundera photo
Milan Kundera198
Czech author of Czech and French literature 1929–2023
Václav Klaus photo
Václav Klaus3
2nd President of the Czech Republic None
Karel Čapek photo
Karel Čapek51
Czech writer None
Tomáš Baťa photo
Tomáš Baťa7
Czech businessman None
Václav Havel photo
Václav Havel126
playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and 1st President of … None
Emil Zátopek photo
Emil Zátopek5
Czech Olympic long-distance runner None
Francois Mauriac photo
Francois Mauriac38
French author None
Romain Rolland photo
Romain Rolland43
French author None
Albert Camus photo
Albert Camus209
French author and journalist None
Karl Kraus photo
Karl Kraus94
Czech playwright and publicist None