Jaroslav Hašek (1883–1923)
Author of The Good Soldier Švejka
About the Author
Even though Jaroslav Hasek wrote a large number of short stories, his fame rests mainly on his satirical novel The Good Soldier Schweik (1920--23), in which he created the fat and cowardly dog-catcher-gone-to-war who personified Czech bitterness toward Austria in World War I. The humorous show more complications in which Schweik becomes involved derive from Hasek's own experience; his work as a journalist was interrupted by war and, like Schweik, he became a soldier. Eventually, he was taken prisoner by the Russians. Later he returned to Prague as a communist to work as a free-lance writer. At his death he had completed only four "Schweik" novels of a projected six. Martin Esslin has said, "Schweik is more than a mere character; he represents a basic human attitude. Schweik defeats the powers that be, the whole universe in its absurdity, not by opposing but by complying with them. . . In the end the stupidity of the authorities, the idiocy of the law are ruthlessly exposed." The character of Schweik made a tremendous impression on Bertolt Brecht, who transformed his name to use him afresh in the play Schweyk in the Second World War. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
(yid) VIAF:4931097
The Good Soldier Svejk (Schweik, Schwejk, Svejkin...) was written as 4 volumes. Modern editions are often a selection from all of them, but let's try to keep those published as the original volumes separate.
Image credit: Jaroslav Hašek in his twenties
Series
Works by Jaroslav Hašek
The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk During the World War, Book One (1921) 167 copies, 2 reviews
Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk During The World War, Book Two (1922) 115 copies, 1 review
Historia del partido del progreso moderado dentro de los límites de la ley ; Comandante de la ciudad de Bulgumá (2015) 9 copies, 1 review
Il peccato del parroco Andrea 7 copies
The Good Soldier Svejk Vol 3 6 copies
Il tuono viola e altri racconti 5 copies
vejk contro l’Italia 4 copies
Böhmische Küche. 40 Humoresken 3 copies
Satiry a humoresky 3 copies
e Ancora botte da orbi 3 copies
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války. Vol. 2 Díl 3., 4., V zázemí. Na frontě (1999) 2 copies
Il Buon soldato Sc'vèik 2 copies
Den Tappre Soldaten Svejks Äventyr I 2 copies
Der Tolpatsch und andere Erzählungen 2 copies
Svejk I. 1 copy
Собрание сочинений в 6-ти томах. Том 5. Книга памфлетов: Политическая и социальная история партии… 1 copy
Собрание сочинений в 6-ти томах. Том 6. Похождения бравого солдата Швейка во время мировой войны:… 1 copy
Исповедь старого холостяка 1 copy
Ярослав Гашек в 5-ти томах 1 copy
Die Ausrottung der Praktikanten der Speditionsfirma Kobkán Geschichten und kurze Texte (2015) 1 copy
Svejk II. 1 copy
Рассказы 1 copy
O Valente Soldado Chveik 1 copy
SUPLIMENT VESEL DUMINICAL 1 copy
Рассказы и фельетоны 1 copy
Dole i niedole dzielnego żołnierza Szwejka podczas wojny światowej. T. 1, T. 2, [Na tyłach]. [Na froncie] (1991) 1 copy
Meine Beichte 1 copy
Fialový hrom : povídky 1 copy
Собрание сочинений в 6 томах 1 copy
Рассказы и фельетоны 1 copy
By Jaroslav Hasek The Red Commissar: Including Further Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk and Other Stories (New edition) (2003) 1 copy
Abeceda humoru 1 copy
Dole sloboda štampe 1 copy
Για τα πανηγύρια 1 copy
Για γέλια και για κλάματα 1 copy
Ομορφος κόσμος ηθικός 1 copy
Ενας δολοφόνος καταζητείται 1 copy
Ushtari i mire Shvejk 1 1 copy
Razgovor s cenzorom 1 copy
Ushtari i mire shvejk 2 1 copy
Galerie karikatur 1 copy
Fialový hrom 1 copy
Cuentos de Hasek 1 copy
Góði dátinn Svejk 1 copy
O valente soldado Chveik 1 copy
Ο καλός στρατιώτης Σβέϊκ 1 copy
Hörcsög a díványban 1 copy
Fialový hrom 1 copy
Dobri vojak Švejk (knj. 1) 1 copy
Der lila Blitz 1 copy
Povídky 1 1 copy
Povídky 2 1 copy
Ένας δολοφόνος καταζητείται 1 copy
Abeceda humoru A/L 1 copy
Nešťastný policejní ředitel 1 copy
Hur det gick till när jag dog och hur jag träffade författaren till min nekrolog (Fenix 1:1/2) 1 copy
La vera storia e il programma originale del Partito del Progresso Moderato nei Limiti della Legge 1 copy
Dobri vojak Švejk (knj. 3) 1 copy
Kaptenens arméhund : Jaroslav Hasek berättar fyra historier ur Reelní podník : grotesky a mystifikace : tretí dekameron, 1977 (1996) 1 copy
Trampoty pana Tenkráta 1 copy
Min zoologiske have 1 copy
Idylky z pekla 1 copy
Moje zpověď 1 copy
Školní čítanky a jiné satiry 1 copy
Jak se máme chovati 1 copy
Associated Works
Piirakkasota; valikoima huumoria — Contributor — 3 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Hašek, Jaroslav
- Birthdate
- 1883-04-30
- Date of death
- 1923-01-03
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Czech-Slavonic Business Academy
- Occupations
- druggist
bank clerk
dog salesman
journalist
soldier
humorist (show all 7)
satirist - Short biography
- Czech writer and humorist Jaroslav Hašek became internationally known for his novel The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War (1923). He was also the author of approximately fifteen hundred stories, sketches, and newspaper columns; in addition, he wrote plays for cabarets. Hašek's work was closely linked to his unconventional lifestyle, which became the subject of many stories and legends that Hašek himself helped to create. In his best works, the spontaneity of his storytelling and overall ironic detachment indicate his belief in unpretentiousness and tolerance.
- Cause of death
- heart failure
- Nationality
- Czech Republic
Austria-Hungary - Birthplace
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Places of residence
- Prague, Czech Republic (then Bohemia)
Lipnice, Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) - Place of death
- Lipnice nad Sázavou, Czech Republic
- Burial location
- Lipnice, Czech Republic
- Map Location
- Czech Republic
- Disambiguation notice
- The Good Soldier Svejk (Schweik, Schwejk, Svejkin...) was written as 4 volumes. Modern editions are often a selection from all of them, but let's try to keep those published as the original volumes separate.
Members
Discussions
Fine editions of Hesse or Hašek? in Fine Press Forum (October 2022)
Group Read, April 2017: The Good Soldier Svejk in 1001 Books to read before you die (May 2017)
Reviews
Not quite as satisfying on a reread, but still one of the great 20th Century picaresques and a seminal war satire, passing the baton directly from Simplicissimus to the likes of Heller and Eastlake. The characters are indelible: the terminally uptight Lt Dub, the apelike, arm-swinging glutton Baloun, the long-suffering but essentially noble Lt Lukáš, and of course Švejk himself with his inexhaustible fund of pointless anecdotes and reductio ad absurdums, a kind of super-moronic Sancho show more Panza (to Lukáš' Quixote?) whose response to the idiocy of endless war is to meet it on its own idiotic, interminable terms.
Hašek's disgust for the role of the Church in war is extremely palpable. Here he is describing some prayer-cards, penned by the Archbishop of Budapest and distributed to the men by a couple of well-meaning old ladies:
And although the plot, such as it is, never makes it to any actual combat (I wonder if it would have done had the author lived to complete it?), the horror of the front is never far away. Here's an anonymous character in a discussion on the prevalence of shit on the battlefield:
Ultimately though, Švejk is a pre-postmodern work, the theatre of war meeting the theatre of the absurd. Exchanges like this, very near the end of the book, capture the spirit of it, I think:
And at its heart, amid all the inanity, the tedium, the degradations, if you squint very hard, there's a kernel of something decent:
Hašek's disgust for the role of the Church in war is extremely palpable. Here he is describing some prayer-cards, penned by the Archbishop of Budapest and distributed to the men by a couple of well-meaning old ladies:
According to the venerable archbishop the merciful Lord ought to cut the Russians, British, Serbs, French and Japanese into mincemeat, and make a paprika goulash out of them. The merciful Lord ought to bathe in the blood of the enemies and murder them all, as the ruthless Herod had done with the Innocents.
His Eminence, the Archbishop of Budapest, used in his prayers such beautiful sentences as for instance: 'God bless your bayonets that they may pierce deeply into your enemies' bellies. May the most just Lord direct the artillery fire onto the heads of the enemy staffs. May merciful God grant that all your enemies choke in their own blood from the wounds which you will deal them!'
And although the plot, such as it is, never makes it to any actual combat (I wonder if it would have done had the author lived to complete it?), the horror of the front is never far away. Here's an anonymous character in a discussion on the prevalence of shit on the battlefield:
'And a dead man, who lay on top of the cover with his legs hanging down and half of whose head had been torn off by shrapnel, just as though he'd been cut in half, he too in the last moment shitted so much that it ran from his trousers over his boots into the trenches mixed with blood. And half his skull together with his brains lay right underneath. A chap doesn't even notice how it happens to him.'
Ultimately though, Švejk is a pre-postmodern work, the theatre of war meeting the theatre of the absurd. Exchanges like this, very near the end of the book, capture the spirit of it, I think:
Vaněk asked with interest:
'How long do you think the war will go on, Švejk?'
'Fifteen years,' answered Švejk. 'That's obvious because once there was a thirty years' war and now we're twice as clever as they were before.'
And at its heart, amid all the inanity, the tedium, the degradations, if you squint very hard, there's a kernel of something decent:
Lieutenant Lukáš walked along the track thinking: 'I ought to have given him a few on the jaw, but instead I've been gossiping with him as though he were a friend.'show less
I read this after watching the movie 1917 which generated a little WWI curiosity. Many reviewers compare this to Catch-22. There are similarities, but while Catch-22 contains tragic and painful absurdity in addition to humor, Svejk is mostly funny-absurd.
It is almost 100 years old, but has aged well. I am in the US Army now, and our bureaucracy has changed much less than we would like to think. No one could be as lucky or as unlucky as Svejk, but many of his misadventures are scaled up show more versions of things I see every day. show less
It is almost 100 years old, but has aged well. I am in the US Army now, and our bureaucracy has changed much less than we would like to think. No one could be as lucky or as unlucky as Svejk, but many of his misadventures are scaled up show more versions of things I see every day. show less
The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War: Translated by Cecil Parrott. With Original Illustrations by Josef Lada. by Jaroslav Hašek
For more reviews and bookish posts visit: https://www.ManOfLaBook.com
The Good Soldier Švejkby Jaroslav Hašek is a classic Czech novel about an observant, but not too bright (maybe?) soldier in World War I. Mr. Hajek was a writer and satirist who is considered an anarchist with a passion to satirize persons in authority.
Josef Švejk, a passionate and faithful citizen of the Austrian Empire is enthusiastic about serving his country after the assassination of Arch. Bike Ferdinand in Sarajevo. show more Regardless of his suffering from rheumatism, is recruited into the Army as a Batman for Chaplain Otto Katz who’s an expert at finding easy jobs away from the dangerous front.
Katz loses in a bet to Senior Lieutenant Lukáš and our hero finds himself closer to the front, and causing endless headaches for Lukáš. After getting lost, velk finds his way back to his regiment and to the front… almost.
I have known about this book since childhood, I remember my dad mentioning it, but never found time to read it. I’m actually glad I waited this long, most likely, I wouldn’t have understood much of the jokes and humor. As is, I felt much was lost to translation – just to be clear, this is not the fault of the translator.
The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek follows the protagonist in his attempts to survive and face the absurdities thrown at him. Mr. Hašek’s disdain of authority, and the shortcomings of individuals who hold high positions is obvious and biting. So much, in fact, That many politicians, officers, and intellectuals found the book threatening and often successfully managed to outright ban it.
Much of the books is a collection of tales told by Švejk to make some absurd point, mostly to their chagrin. It is filled with a large number of characters which are either directly connected to the plot or through Švejk’s anecdotes.
I still haven’t figured out if Švejk is an idiot as everyone, including him, says he is, or smarter than all of them put together. He is full of contradictions and we never know whether or not he actually means what he says or does, or aiming for an opposite outcome.
Many reviewers compared this book to Forrest Gump or Catch-22, but it reminded me more of the social commentary in Gulliver’s Travels, a journey of the protagonist and his relationship to society run by pompous, self-important ignoramuses. Much like Swift‘s novel, this is a travel-adventure story where many of the characters are caricatures of social stereotypes. The atheist priest, for example, or those in authority whose true character of vanity, hypocrisy, and outright stupidity is exposed by a low-born peasant who they consider several degrees below them.
I thought this novel was both hilarious and grim at the same time. The unrelenting irony against all types of hypocrisy (but mainly religion), and all forms of social bureaucracy that claim authority over the common people are what makes this book one of the greatest anti-war novels every written. show less
The Good Soldier Švejkby Jaroslav Hašek is a classic Czech novel about an observant, but not too bright (maybe?) soldier in World War I. Mr. Hajek was a writer and satirist who is considered an anarchist with a passion to satirize persons in authority.
Josef Švejk, a passionate and faithful citizen of the Austrian Empire is enthusiastic about serving his country after the assassination of Arch. Bike Ferdinand in Sarajevo. show more Regardless of his suffering from rheumatism, is recruited into the Army as a Batman for Chaplain Otto Katz who’s an expert at finding easy jobs away from the dangerous front.
Katz loses in a bet to Senior Lieutenant Lukáš and our hero finds himself closer to the front, and causing endless headaches for Lukáš. After getting lost, velk finds his way back to his regiment and to the front… almost.
I have known about this book since childhood, I remember my dad mentioning it, but never found time to read it. I’m actually glad I waited this long, most likely, I wouldn’t have understood much of the jokes and humor. As is, I felt much was lost to translation – just to be clear, this is not the fault of the translator.
The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek follows the protagonist in his attempts to survive and face the absurdities thrown at him. Mr. Hašek’s disdain of authority, and the shortcomings of individuals who hold high positions is obvious and biting. So much, in fact, That many politicians, officers, and intellectuals found the book threatening and often successfully managed to outright ban it.
Much of the books is a collection of tales told by Švejk to make some absurd point, mostly to their chagrin. It is filled with a large number of characters which are either directly connected to the plot or through Švejk’s anecdotes.
I still haven’t figured out if Švejk is an idiot as everyone, including him, says he is, or smarter than all of them put together. He is full of contradictions and we never know whether or not he actually means what he says or does, or aiming for an opposite outcome.
Many reviewers compared this book to Forrest Gump or Catch-22, but it reminded me more of the social commentary in Gulliver’s Travels, a journey of the protagonist and his relationship to society run by pompous, self-important ignoramuses. Much like Swift‘s novel, this is a travel-adventure story where many of the characters are caricatures of social stereotypes. The atheist priest, for example, or those in authority whose true character of vanity, hypocrisy, and outright stupidity is exposed by a low-born peasant who they consider several degrees below them.
I thought this novel was both hilarious and grim at the same time. The unrelenting irony against all types of hypocrisy (but mainly religion), and all forms of social bureaucracy that claim authority over the common people are what makes this book one of the greatest anti-war novels every written. show less
The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War: The Classic Black Humor War Literature Comedy That Defined 20th Century Antiwar Satire by Jaroslav Hašek
In this novel written by Czech writer and anarchist Jaroslav Hašek following World War I, he has created a rambling satire, which humorously presents one soldier’s attempt to prevent himself from becoming a casualty. Casting himself as an eager recruit, Švejk’s bumbling attempts to reach the front lines cleverly prevent his arrival. He is represented as the lower class’s Everyman who presents himself as an idiot to keep himself safe. Good-natured and garrulous, he cunningly show more manipulates the military’s bureaucracy to insure he survives the conflict.
An uncompleted novel, the death of the author in 1923 left Švejk’s eventual fate untold. Even so, the bulk of the novel still satisfies. Throughout, Švejk is a character the reader delights to spend time with, but it is the cast of the other soldiers he interacts with that colorfully describe the futility of war and the patriotic forces fueling it. At times, portions of the novel seem more a lecture than a true description of actual events on the ground, but in the end this satire remains a masterpiece presenting the thoughts and actions of a soldier whose loyalty to self comes first. show less
An uncompleted novel, the death of the author in 1923 left Švejk’s eventual fate untold. Even so, the bulk of the novel still satisfies. Throughout, Švejk is a character the reader delights to spend time with, but it is the cast of the other soldiers he interacts with that colorfully describe the futility of war and the patriotic forces fueling it. At times, portions of the novel seem more a lecture than a true description of actual events on the ground, but in the end this satire remains a masterpiece presenting the thoughts and actions of a soldier whose loyalty to self comes first. show less
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Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 270
- Also by
- 4
- Members
- 5,035
- Popularity
- #4,966
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 92
- ISBNs
- 328
- Languages
- 27
- Favorited
- 25
