The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

Part 1 opens with Klement Gottwald, the first Communist president of Czechoslovakia, standing triumphantly on a balcony in Prague. He is flanked by friends and political allies, including a man named Vladimir Clementis, who places his own hat on Gottwald’s head. Later that day, Clementis will be executed, and his image will be erased from all photographs of the ceremony. The hat, however, will remain. Even though the image of Clements next to Gottwald has been seen by many people, the communist regime that governs Czechoslovakia in 1971 has no compunction about erasing someone from history.

The narrator says that the first rule of living in such a society is to keep no records. This rule is being broken by Mirek, who believes that memories are important. To remember something, Mirek believes, is an act of rebellion against the regime. He records meetings and conversations in his diary. When he suffers an accident at work, Mirek worries that his records might hurt those around him. To protect his friends and family, he decides to destroy his “compromising papers.” First, however, he must meet a woman named Zdena. He ignores the protests of his teenage son and drives to the appointment with an injured arm.

Many years earlier, Mirek and Zdena had an affair. His memories of the affair have begun to fade, however. He no longer feels as though he can trust these memories. Two specific memories stick out to Mirek. In the first, he remembers being suspicious when Zdena cried following the death of a Soviet leader named Masturbov. In the second, Mirek remembers Zdena telling him directly that she was not “satisfied with his lovemaking” (6). She claimed that he made love like an intellectual. Mirek does not really understand her meaning, but the accusation of being an intellectual in that era was bad enough.

As Mirek makes his way to Zdena’s apartment, he realizes that he is being followed. He goes into a repair shop outside of Prague. His friend, who works in the repair shop, is reluctant to work on Mirek’s car, however, as Mirek has been declared a persona non grata due to recent unwanted publicity. One of the men who has been following Mirek arrives. He looks into the hood of Mirek’s car; he stays silent as Mirek’s friend quizzes him. Evidently, the friend is not a fan of the totalitarian regime that has taken hold in Czechoslovakia.

The regime in Czechoslovakia has committed many atrocities, though they are soon forgotten due to the rapid rate at which the atrocities occur. The communists came to power in 1948 via a military coup. At the time, local intellectuals were hopeful. The communists had a vision for a utopic version of Czechoslovakia; this vision allowed them to defeat their rivals. Not everyone shared the vision, however, and opponents of the regime were declared enemies. Many people were imprisoned. Eventually, the intellectuals lost faith in the regime. The vision for a utopia in Czechoslovakia turned into an authoritarian nightmare.

Leaving his mechanic friend behind, Mirek resumes his journey to Zdena. He notices that he is being followed again, and he suddenly regrets that he did not hide his incriminating papers. Mirek senses that his own story may be ending soon. He remembers when he ended the relationship with Zdena. Afterward, he married an attractive woman who then died. His status as a widower seemed to make him more attractive to women. Since he is a scientist, Mirek felt himself to be removed from the interference of the state. When he “refused to renounce his convictions” (14) and to co-operate with the Soviets, however, he lost his job.

Mirek was unrepentant. He fell in love with the tragedy of his own story. He sees his destiny almost as something separate to his self: He also sees his life like a work of art, with Mirek himself as the artist, perfecting his project. To perfect this life, however, Mirek believes that Zdena must be erased from his story. Zdena presents a problem for Mirek’s idea of his life as a work of art, partly due to her sympathy for the Soviets. More of an issue, Mirek concedes, is that Zdena is “ugly.” In Mirek’s mind, his attachment to such an ugly woman is an issue as it may hinder relationships with other, more attractive women. Mirek believes that beautiful women will be put off if they know that he had an affair with an ugly woman. Zdena often discusses her affair with Mirek openly, meaning that Mirek feels a need to change his past to suit his current needs.

Mirek began his affair with Zdena because she was a member of the Communist Party. He told his friends that their affair would help him achieve a promotion. This is not true, the narrator interjects. Rather, Mirek did not believe that a more attractive woman would be interested in him. Mirek “clearly” remembers a time shortly after Zdena denounced his intellectual lovemaking. He had tried to impress her in bed but failed.

The narrator states that the Prague Spring took place in 1968. This brief period of liberalization in the country ended on August 21, when the Soviets sent troops into Bohemia to put down the uprising. This—and many other episodes—have been deliberately forgotten by society to preserve the ideal of the communist vision, which is an example of how the Soviets revise history. Mirek, like many of the intellectuals, is a victim of this revision.

Mirek arrives at Zdena’s apartment. He still feels that he is being followed. Zdena is wary of Mirek’s arrival, but she understands that he is in trouble. She suggests that he apologize to the authorities and plead for mercy. Mirek understands this, but he does not want to go on television to renounce the statements that he made against communism. He believes that the story of his life needs a better resolution. Mirek suspects that Zdena is acting strangely because she is in league with the authorities. The narrator dismisses Mirek’s paranoia, however, and states that Zdena is not working for the state. Mirek suddenly has a realization: Zdena wants him to save himself. He wonders whether he has always been misinterpreting Zdena’s intentions. Even her loyalty to the party, he wonders, might have been for his benefit.

Mirek reveals the purpose of his visit: He asks Zdena for the love letters he sent to her. Zdena has recently read the letters again. The “explosion of feelings” (23) in Mirek’s letters surprised her. Mirek is displeased. He assures himself that this supposed emotion was caused by his own desperate efforts to convince himself that he was in love with Zdena. Yet Zdena suggests that there are many ideas and sentiments from Mirek’s past that he would no longer like to be associated with. He was a very different person back then, Zdena admits. Mirek, however, is focused solely on retrieving the letters to erase this history of himself. Zdena asks what he will do with the letters. Mirek lies, saying that he wants to read them to show himself the truth of the past.

Zdena is not tricked by Mirek’s lies. When she refuses to hand over the letters, Mirek hates the “unbearable” power she has over him. He thinks about attacking her and taking the letters. Mirek tells Zdena that he was followed to her apartment. Zdena does not believe him, which convinces Mirek that she must be working with the authorities. They bid farewell to one another. Mirek never wants to see Zdena again. Privately, Zdena is worried by Mirek’s talk of being followed. She knows that she cannot alter Mirek’s fate.

On his return home, Mirek manages to evade his followers. When he is alone, he slows down and observes the world around him. He wonders to himself why he went to see Zdena when he could have been burning his own diaries and documents instead. Mirek knows that his actions were not rational. He sought to take charge of his past by destroying the love letters to Zdena. While waiting for a train to pass, he sees a village in the distance that reminds him of the summer vacation when he first met Zdena. He knows he truly loved her then, back when they were both idealistic young communists. Mirek even informed on other people to improve his standing in the Party. He finally concedes that he is not better than the Party. He, too, wants to change history to make himself look better. The narrator suggests that this is the purpose of power: to change the past.

Mirek’s guilty thoughts soon vanish. He continues his journey, pushing the memories from his mind. He resumes his mission to give his story the perfect ending. When he returns home, the secret police are waiting for him. His son is also waiting for him; his son is upset and always thought that Mirek’s plan was absurd. The police have searched the apartment and have found Mirek’s papers. One officer tells him that these papers will incriminate many people. This does not upset Mirek, nor does the threat of prison. This may be the best ending for his story, as the news of his sentence will stay in the public consciousness for longer than if he were simply erased or if he fled the country. Mirek romanticizes the idea of himself as an awkward “stain” on the vision of a communist utopia. He is sentenced to six years in prison; Mirek’s son is sentenced to two years in prison; 10 of Mirek’s friends are also sent to prison based on the evidence in Mirek’s papers.