The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
First English edition (publ. Knopf)
AuthorMilan Kundera
Original titleKniha smíchu a zapomnění
TranslatorMichael Henry Heim
LanguageCzech
Publication date
1979
Publication placeFrance
Published in English
1980
Pages320

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (Czech: Kniha smíchu a zapomnění) is a novel by Milan Kundera, published in France 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 magic realism.