KUNDERA, Milan. Four copies of the The Joke .

KUNDERA, Milan. Four copies of the The Joke .Four first editions of Kundera's debut KUNDERA, Milan. Four copies of the The Joke. 1) KUNDERA, Milan. ert. Prague: Ceskoslovensky Spistovatel. 1967. White cloth with green and black title lettering; end papers patterned white and black; Green and white dust wrapper, upper edge green; pp. [6], 7 292, [4]; frayed ribbon marker; slight discolouration at bottom of spine; dust wrapper nicked at the top of spine, slight tear at top right corner of back

Four first editions of Kundera's debut

KUNDERA, Milan. Four copies of the The Joke.

1) KUNDERA, Milan. Žert. Prague: Ceskoslovensky Spistovatel. 1967.

White cloth with green and black title lettering; end papers patterned white and black; Green and white dust wrapper, upper edge green; pp. [6], 7-292, [4]; frayed ribbon marker; slight discolouration at bottom of spine; dust wrapper nicked at the top of spine, slight tear at top right corner of back wrapper as wel as lower panel, otherwise very good.

First Czech edition.

2) _. The Joke. New York: Coward-Mccann. 1969.

Purple cloth backed green boards; lilac end papers, green and purple dust jacket designed by Rob Cobuzio; pp [9], 10-288; black lettering on spine faded; spine head and food slightly bruised, front flap also price clipped; otherwise near fine.

First US edition.

3) _. The Joke. New York: Harper Row Publishers. 1982.

Black cloth backed paper-covered boards with red printed star at bottom edge and gold lettering to spine; black illustrated dust wrapper designed by Fred Marcellino; pp. [8], vii-xii, [2], 267, [4]; distinct stains to back board, crease to front flap, rubbed at head of spine, otherwise near fine.

First US edition of the complete translation.

4) _. The Joke. London: Faber and Faber. 1983.

Black cloth backed paper-covered boards with gold lettering to spine; black illustrated dust wrapper deisgned by Fred Marcellino; pp. [8], vii-xii, [2], 267, [4]; slight foxing to fore edges; a few ink stains on pages 24-25, minor crease to front flap, otherwise near fine.

First UK edition.

The debut novel of the author of the modern classic The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera's The Joke is the story of a young student whose private joke within the oppressive environment of Communist Czechoslovakia derails his very existence. Although the mauscript was completed in 1965, censorship pushed back its publication date until it was eventually banned entirely when the Soviet Union invaded. Friction between Kundera's cries for political reform and the regieme caused him to flea to exile in Paris. In an ironic play on the novel's title, he would write in The Joke,"People who shout joy from the rooftops are often the saddest of all". With its wildly extensive legacy, French poet Louis Aragon christened it "One of the greatest novels of the century".

SKU: 2120254