Good Soldier Svejk – Jaroslav Hasek

The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hasek is a comic masterpiece and a world classic. This provocative, mickey-taking book was translated into many languages and filmed several times. Jaroslav Hašek describes first-hand the bizarre life in pre and post-war Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovak army libraries removed the book from their shelves in 1925. The German translation was burnt during the on Nazi book burnings in 1933.

Best seller

Good-natured Švejk was recruited on the outbreak of World War I. His clumsy attempts to get to the front are counterproductive and prevent him from reaching it. Playing cards and getting drunk, he uses all tricks and deceits to mislead the police, the clergy and anyone who harasses him. Švejk is the always friendly soldier who carries out every command literally and executes it to absurdity. His aim is never to reach the front and never to fight in battle. He looks at authoritarian and military behaviour in a universal way, which makes The Good Soldier Švejk best seller forever.

Jaroslav Hasek (1883-1923), journalist and writer, combines brilliant wordplay and black satire to create a hilariously description of the pointlessness of war.