The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (Czech: Kniha smíchu a zapomnění) is a novel by Milan Kundera, published in 1979. It is composed of seven separate narratives united by some common themes. The book considers the nature of forgetting as it occurs in history, politics and life in general. The stories also contain elements found in the genre of Magical Realism.
The original title is: Kniha smíchu a zapomnění, and was then published in France unde...
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The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (Czech: Kniha smíchu a zapomnění) is a novel by Milan Kundera, published in 1979. It is composed of seven separate narratives united by some common themes. The book considers the nature of forgetting as it occurs in history, politics and life in general. The stories also contain elements found in the genre of Magical Realism.
The original title is: Kniha smíchu a zapomnění, and was then published in France under the title: Le Livre du rire et de l'oubli in 1978. The English translation was first published in the U.S.A. by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. in 1980, and is credited to Michael Henry Heim. Several sections of the book were printed in The New Yorker. The book was published in Czech by the exile publishing house 68 Publishers Toronto in April 1981.
The first section occurs in 1971 and pertains to the story of Mirek, a former supporter now found to be treasonous, as he explores the depths of his memories pertaining to one woman named Zdena. In his...
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