Milan Kundera First Editions

• The Joke — 1969 · Coward-McCannFirst English-language edition, 1969, translated by David Hamblyn and Oliver Stallybrass. Issued by Coward-McCann in the US and Macdonald in the UK. This first translation was abridged and rearranged; Kundera publicly repudiated it, and authorized retranslations followed (Michael Henry Heim, 1982, and Kundera's own definitive version, 1992). The 1969 printing is the true first edition but is textually compromised. First edition in English of Žert (Prague, 1967). Because the 1969 text is abridged and disowned by the author, collectors distinguish it sharply from the later authorized retranslations. No notable book-club edition confirmed as a distinguishing point.
• Laughable Loves — 1974 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst American edition, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1974; translated from the Czech by Suzanne Rappaport, with an introduction by Philip Roth, and issued as part of Roth's 'Writers from the Other Europe' series. Bound in dark mustard cloth with the spine lettered in gilt; the top page edges are dyed lilac. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket with the price printed on the front flap (that printed price should be…. First English-language edition of the story collection Smesne lasky. Precedes any later Penguin reissue, which appeared in a revised form. Confirm the true first by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page; the dark mustard cloth, gilt spine, and lilac-dyed top edges together with the priced pictorial jacket support first-printing identification, as no reliable single blind-stamp point is documented.
• Life Is Elsewhere — 1974 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst American edition, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1974; octavo, 289 pages, in greenish-gray cloth with titles stamped to the spine, in an unclipped illustrated dust jacket with cover illustration by Frank A. Fitzgerald; translated from the Czech by Peter Kussi. The jacket should retain its printed price. First English-language edition of Zivot je jinde (1973), Kundera's second novel. The novel had earlier appeared in French and won the Prix Medicis etranger. Confirm the first Knopf printing by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page; no single reliable blindstamp point is documented for this title.
• The Farewell Party — 1976 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst printing, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1976; translated from the Czech by Peter Kussi. Bound in cornflower-blue quarter cloth over white paper boards, stamped in blue to the front board and silver to the spine, with a pink topstain and machine-deckle fore-edge. Pictorial dust jacket designed by Lidia Ferrara and illustrated by Charles Shields; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed price. First English-language edition of Valcik na rozloučenou. Kussi's rendering was later revised/retranslated and reissued as The Farewell Waltz. Confirm the true first by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page; no reliable single blind-stamp point is documented.
• The Book of Laughter and Forgetting — 1980 · Alfred A. KnopfEnglish true first is the Alfred A. Knopf (New York) 1980 hardcover, translated by Michael Henry Heim, with 'First American Edition' stated on the copyright page under the Borzoi imprint (Knopf used the stated edition statement rather than a number line). Jacket by Fred Marcellino, priced on the front flap. The Knopf 1980 precedes the first UK edition (Faber and Faber, London, 1982) by two years; there was no…. The Knopf 1980 Heim translation is the first English edition; the French Gallimard 1979 edition preceded any complete Czech publication. This is the original 1980 Heim text, later retranslated by Aaron Asher in 1996 (a separate 'first thus'). Watch for the 1996 Aaron Asher retranslation (HarperCollins) being conflated with the 1980 Knopf first; they are different texts. Book-of-the-Month Club copies of the Knopf edition lack a jacket price.
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being — 1984 · Harper & RowFirst edition in English (American issue), translated from the Czech by Michael Henry Heim. Quarter-cloth (tan buckram) spine over black paper-covered boards; dust jacket designed by Fred Marcellino, priced at the unclipped front flap (price present, not clipped). The first printing states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with the complete number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.' Octavo, 314 pages. Precedence trap: the work was first published not in Czech but in French translation. The true first edition of the work is 'L'insoutenable legerete de l'etre' (Paris: Gallimard, 1984), translated from the Czech by Francois Kerel, which appeared ahead of the English within 1984. The first edition in English is the American Harper & Row (New York, 1984, trans. Michael Henry Heim); a UK Faber and Faber edition also…. Book-of-the-Month Club copies of the Harper & Row edition exist (small blind stamp to the rear board, jacket without price to the flap) and are not the trade first. To confirm the trade first, look for the stated 'FIRST EDITION,' the complete number line ending in 1, and the priced first-state Marcellino jacket.
• The Art of the Novel — 1988 · Grove PressFirst American edition, Grove Press, New York, 1988 (hardcover); translated from the French by Linda Asher, running to 165 pages. The first printing is identified by a full number line on the copyright page and is bound in red cloth over gray boards, the spine stamped in silver. The first-state dust jacket carries the printed cover price on the front flap, which should be present and unclipped on an unrestored copy. First English-language edition of the essay collection L'art du roman (Gallimard, 1986). A Harper & Row Perennial paperback (Grove-licensed Perennial trade paper) also appeared in 1988; the Grove Press hardcover is the true first English-language edition. No book-club edition documented; confirm the first printing by the full number line on the copyright page. Later Grove and Harper Perennial issues drop the complete number line.
• Immortality — 1991 · Grove WeidenfeldFirst American edition, Grove Weidenfeld, New York, 1991; translated from the Czech by Peter Kussi. Issued in cloth-backed boards; confirm the first printing on the copyright page (no added later-printing statement). First English-language edition of Nesmrtelnost (1990). The US Grove Weidenfeld edition was published in 1991 and the Faber and Faber UK edition in 1992, so the 1991 Grove Weidenfeld printing precedes the UK edition and is the true first edition in English. Both use Peter Kussi's translation from the Czech. No specific later-printing point is documented beyond the copyright-page statement; verify the first printing there. A Book-of-the-Month-Club or similar club issue, if encountered, is a reprint distinguishable by a blind stamp to the rear board and absence of a printed price.
• Testaments Betrayed — 1995 · HarperCollinsFirst American edition, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1995, subtitled 'An Essay in Nine Parts', translated from the French by Linda Asher; ISBN 0-06-017145-6. Issued in cloth with dust jacket; confirm the stated first edition on the copyright page. First English-language edition of the essay Les testaments trahis (1993). A Faber and Faber (London) edition, ISBN 0-571-17337-2, also appeared in 1995; the US HarperCollins printing is treated as the first English edition, though exact US/UK precedence within 1995 is not firmly settled. No specific later-printing point documented; verify the first printing statement and full number line on the copyright page.
• Slowness — 1996 · HarperCollinsFirst US edition, HarperCollins, New York, 1996 (ISBN 0060173696), translated by Linda Asher; issued as a cloth hardcover in the original dust jacket. Advance reading copies exist separately and are not the trade first. Both the US HarperCollins and UK Faber and Faber printings appeared in 1996. First English translation of La lenteur (Gallimard, 1995), the first work of fiction Kundera wrote directly in French. The US HarperCollins issue and the UK Faber and Faber issue both appeared in 1996; the Faber paperback followed in 1997. No notable book-club edition.
• Identity — 1998 · HarperFlamingoFirst US edition, HarperFlamingo (a HarperCollins imprint), New York, 1998, translated from the French by Linda Asher; the first printing carries the full descending number line on the copyright page. The first-issue dust jacket reproduces a jacket painting by Kristjan Davidsson and carries the printed price on the front flap (price-clipping alone does not unmake a first). First English-language translation of L'identité, which Gallimard issued in French in its Blanche collection in January 1998 (printing completed December 1997); the French Gallimard edition is the true world first, the HarperFlamingo the first US/English printing. A Faber & Faber London edition also appeared in 1998 as the first UK printing. No notable book-club edition.
• Ignorance — 2002 · HarperCollinsFirst US edition, HarperCollins, 2002, translated from the French by Linda Asher; first printing carries a complete descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap (not clipped). First English translation of L'ignorance. Kundera withheld the French original: it appeared in Spanish (Tusquets) and other translations from 2000, and the 2002 English edition also preceded the French, which Gallimard did not publish until 2003. No notable book-club edition.
• The Curtain — 2007 · HarperCollinsFirst US edition, HarperCollins, New York, 2007 (full title The Curtain: An Essay in Seven Parts), translated from the French by Linda Asher; a book-length critical essay in seven parts. The first printing is a stated first edition, carrying the HarperCollins 'First edition' line on the copyright page with a full descending number line ending in 1 and no later-printing statement. The first-issue jacket should…. First English translation of Le rideau (Gallimard, Paris, 2005). Among English printings the HarperCollins US edition (published January 30, 2007) preceded the Faber & Faber UK edition (published March 15, 2007) by about six weeks, so the US HarperCollins printing is the true English-language first; the French Le rideau of 2005 is the true first edition of the work overall. No notable book-club edition.
• Encounter — 2010 · HarperCollinsFirst US edition, HarperCollins, New York, 2010, translated from the French by Linda Asher; a collection of essays running about 180 pages. Bound in cream boards. The first printing is identified by the 'First edition' / 'First printing' statement on the copyright page in the HarperCollins style; a complete descending number line ending in 1 with no later-printing statement marks the first impression. The…. First English translation of Une rencontre (Gallimard, Paris, 2009). The HarperCollins US printing and the Faber & Faber UK printing both appeared in 2010; the underlying French original of 2009 is the true first edition of the work in any language. No notable book-club edition.
• The Festival of Insignificance — 2015 · HarperFirst US edition, Harper (an imprint of HarperCollins), New York, 2015, translated from the French by Linda Asher (ISBN 978-0-06-235689-5, interior designed by Fritz Metsch). The copyright page carries the 'FIRST EDITION' statement together with a descending printer's number line ending in 1; the first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed cover price. This is a slim novella of roughly 115 pages. First English translation of La fete de l'insignifiance (Gallimard, published in France in April 2014); the English text carries a 2013 copyright for the underlying work. The French Gallimard printing therefore precedes the English-language first, and the US Harper and UK Faber & Faber editions both appeared in 2015. No notable book-club edition.

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