Think you’ve got your head wrapped around The Book of Laughter and Forgetting? Put your knowledge to
the test. Good luck — the Stickman is counting on you!
Q. What is litost?
A sense of torment over one's own misery.
A sense of miserliness toward the less fortunate.
A sense of terrible foreboding.
A sense that good things are about to happen.
Q. What is somewhat surprising to Kundera about death, especially as he witnesses his father's final days?
Death is blue. So pretty.
Death is sudden.
Death is hard work.
Death is truly sad.
Q. Why does Kundera envy the circle dancers?
Because he wants to belong, too.
Because they are hugely talented.
Because he really liked being a Communist.
Because he wants to celebrate.
Q. Why does Mirek want his love letters back from Zdena?
He wants total control over his life story.
He wants to relive their romance.
He thinks they may be politically sensitive and wants to destroy them.
He feels jealous of her new love and wants to hurt her feelings.
Q. Why is laughter such a bad thing in Kundera's work?
He's a very somber man and can't bear happiness.
He feels that laughter is unnecessary. Life is absurd, anyway.
He thinks that laughter undermines the dignity of life.
He thinks that laughter is bad for the skin.