Finally, Kundera takes extreme measures and translates Žert into French himself. Kundera thus becomes the omnipresent, omnipotent author, himself impersonating God controlling his own creation. Further, Kundera decided that only his full authorial involvement in the process would ascertain “the same authenticity” of his translations as the original Czech works.

From then on, Kundera showed displeasure at any translator who, however briefly, would impersonate the author and take some license in translating Kundera’s work. As he famously says in an interview regarding the 1968 French translation of Žert, “rage seized me”. Thus, there followed a cascade of translations (namely in French and English) as Kundera would eventually become dissatisfied even with the latest “definitive” translated version.

The novel has been translated into English, French, and many other languages more than once, depending on Kundera’s dissatisfaction with a particular translation (which, at first, he would support). The various translations of his novel Žert (The Joke) exemplify this point. He has said many times that he did not trust translators to translate his works accurately and faithfully. Dimensions: 8.01in - 5.32in - 0.84in - 0.Milan Kundera, a Czech émigré writer, living in Paris and now writing in French, is (in)famous for his tight and obsessive authorial control.The result is nothing less than the restoration of a classic Book Details 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 present edition provides English-language readers an important further means toward revaluation of The Joke. 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. All too often, this brilliant novel of thwarted love and revenge miscarried has been read for its political implications.

The joke book by milan kundera