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Book Review of The Joke : Revised Edition

The Joke : Revised Edition
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I must be missing something. The book was fine, but goodreads collectively says it's 3.92 good, which is a pretty good score. It's also his first novel, which means some publisher thought this was worth publishing without knowing this was the guy who'd later write The Book of Laughter and Forgetting or The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Am I supposed to feel bittersweet about Lucie and her ethereal quality? Am I supposed to feel anger at Zemanek? Pity for Ludvik? Maybe a little, but I'm not deeply moved or nothin'. I just finished it, mentally shrugged, and went to sleep.

Sorry, Milan.