The Good Soldier Švejk
by Jaroslav Hašek
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The Good Soldier Švejk, written shortly after the First World War, is one of the great antiwar satires - and one of the funniest books of the 20th (or any) century. In creating his eponymous hero, Jaroslav Hašek produced an unforgettable character who charms and infuriates and bamboozles his way through the conflagration that tore through the heart of Europe, upending empires and changing social history. It is the closing period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The assassination at Sarajevo show more has just occurred, and armies are on the march. Švejk, a seller of dogs of dubious provenance, ends up in gaol (the first of a number of such occasions) and then in a Czech battalion in the Austrian army. He becomes batman to a chaplain (who likes the bottle) and batman to Lieutenant Lukas, who is swiftly driven to despair; he causes havoc wherever he goes (inexplicably ending up being sentenced to death while wearing a Russian uniform), yet never losing an opportunity tell a story, an anecdote, a history, present an explanation: "Humbly to report, sir..." And the war rumbles on, with hints of the hideousness and slaughter emerging, sometimes all the more vivid because they appear almost between the lines. Jaroslav Hašek, was, like his subject, often on the sidelines of society - an anarchist, a communist, a vagrant, a humourist and writer; women and the bottle and sleight of hand all played parts in his life, and he died at the early age of 39 in penury and obscurity. His masterwork was left unfinished - appropriately, in a curious way, because of its episodic and wayward nature. Not that it matters! In this masterly and very funny reading, David Horovitch brings Švejk and his companions and compatriots to life, balancing subtle satire with out and out slapstick as we encounter Czechs, Hungarians, Russians, Italians and more from this potpourri of people and events. The Good Soldier Švejk is presented in the outstanding translation by Cecil Parrott. And the book closes with Parrott's own absorbing account of Hašek's life and writings, and the background to Švejk. It is read by Martyn Swain. It is called 'Introduction', and Hašek (and Švejk) would have approved of the fact that it comes at the end!. show lessTags
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pgmcc Chonkin is very similar to Svejk. The humour and satire are very similar; as is the exposition of bureaucratic nonsense.
11
CGlanovsky Misguided protagonist gets into a series of misadventures
by anonymous user
sneuper A novel about with many layers: humoristic and satiric at the surface, but realistic and a bitter complaint against war underneath.
Member Reviews
It takes a writer of great gifts to create characters who take on an independent life of their own after the reader has completed the book; it takes a writer of special genius to create characters that are so life-full that they actually enter the folklore of the nation that gives rise to them. Dickens was one such, Hasek is another. From his first appearance in sketches, stories and feuilletons in the first years of the 20th century, to his more fully developed manifestation in this huge novel, the character Svejk has come to embody the folk character of those lands in central Europe previously part of the Austro Hungarian empire: Czech, Slovakia, Bohemia.
An anonymous, modest hero, shabbily dressed, Svejk embodies the little man who show more lives by the creed that if you cannot fight against the Empire, you can at least make its servants wish they’d never been born. Svejk’s weapons in this unequal war are cunning and guile hiding under a mask of innocence and idiocy, the propensity to land himself and his superiors in trouble, and the ability to spin tales that alternately and simultaneously enthral and appal the listener.
Hasek’s target in this satire is the Austro Hungarian Empire, especially its Army, and the Church which bolstered it up. But although the book is firmly located in time and place, and although its satire is directed at something long gone, the book still has enormous, mythic, resonance...
Read the full review on The Lectern. show less
An anonymous, modest hero, shabbily dressed, Svejk embodies the little man who show more lives by the creed that if you cannot fight against the Empire, you can at least make its servants wish they’d never been born. Svejk’s weapons in this unequal war are cunning and guile hiding under a mask of innocence and idiocy, the propensity to land himself and his superiors in trouble, and the ability to spin tales that alternately and simultaneously enthral and appal the listener.
Hasek’s target in this satire is the Austro Hungarian Empire, especially its Army, and the Church which bolstered it up. But although the book is firmly located in time and place, and although its satire is directed at something long gone, the book still has enormous, mythic, resonance...
Read the full review on The Lectern. show less
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 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 show more 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 show more 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
Well, we read this for one of our f2f book groups, and I got about 2/3 of the way through before my eyes glazed over and I found myself falling asleep and dreaming the end of each sentence. Classic though it might be, it wore out its welcome with me. Schwiek is a con-man and otherwise a cypher at the start of WWI in the Czech-speaking part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the book is a series of escapes from a bureaucratic, idiotic and mismanaged army and surrounding society. No one actually gets into battle by the book's ending, but the cruelty and mismanagement the erstwhile hero keeps subverting is a sarcastic look at a rotting system. Glad I peeked at it, not sorry I didn't finish it.
A universally acknowledged Czech classic has as its main character, Svejk, a self admitted imbecile who continuously strengthens this recognition with his superiors. He manages to survive the absurdities and stupidities of Austro-Hungary and its army during World War I while negotiating between many drunken encounters with the clergy and their religion, police, his fellow country men, Germans, Russians and the rest of the nearby world. The whole world seems mad and stupid with perhaps the exception of Lt. Luckas for whom a short while Svejk served as his batsman. There are many bar and drinking scenes, food episodes, beating ups, and an enormous amount happenings that had to deal with shit. Underneath is an undiminished Czech pride. show more This long episodic book ends with out an ending as its author died. By the first 100 pages Hasek has pretty made his point but elongation of the narrative emphasizes and strengthens the feeling that Svejk and the Czechs will survive their disadvantages and humiliations. I associate Joseph Heller's Catch 22 with this story and I think one would gain by reading them together.
Quotes: (page 62) “Various degrees of torture had been introduced for malingerers and suspected malingerers, such as consumptives, rheumatics, people with hernia, kidney disease, typhus, diabetes, pneumonia, other diseases.”
(page 79) “For people who did not want to go to the front the last refuge was the garrison goal....'I don't want to be hated for my brutality,' he said to himself, and calmly stole the watch. First the examined his mental condition but, when he said he wanted to get rich quick, they sent him off to the garrison goal. There were a lot more people like that sitting there for theft or fraud- idealists and non-idealists. There were people who saw the war as a way of increasing their income, those various quartermaster sergeants at the base or at the front who were up to all possible kinds of fiddles with messing and pay, and also petty thieves who were a thousand times more honest than the blackguards who sent them there. And soldiers sat there who had committed various other offenses of a purely military kind such as insubordination, attempted mutiny or desertion. Then came the political prisoners who were in a special class; eighty percent of them were utterly innocent and of these ninety-nine per cent were sentenced...The aura of past power and glory clings to the courts, police, gendarme and venal pack of informers.”
(pages 236-237) “At that moment Svejk looked as if he had fallen down from the sky from some other planet and he was now looking with naive wonder at a new world where people where demanding from him idiotic nonsense which he had never heard of before, like documents.
The lieutenant looked a Svejk and reflected for a moment on what he should say to him and what questions he should put to him.
In the end he asked:'And what were you doing at the station?'
'Humbly report, sir, I was waiting for the train to Ceske Budejovice, so that I could rejoin my 91st regiment, where I am serving as batman to Lieutenant Lukas. I had to leave him behind, when I was brought before the station master for a fine. I was under suspicion of having used the safety and emergency brake and stopped the express in which we were traveling.'
'You're driving up a wall,' shouted the lieutenant. 'Speak connectedly and to the point and cut out this drivel.'
'Humbly report, sir, we had bad luck form the very first moment that Lieutenant Lukas and I got onto that express, which was to take us away and convey us a quickly as possible to our 91st Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment. First we lost a suitcase and then again, so as to get it quite straight, a major-general, who was completely bald...'
'Himmelherrgott,' sighed the lieutenant.
'Humbly report, sir, it's got to be shaken out of me like our of hariy rug in order to get a proper view of all events, if I'm permitted to quote the favorite words of the late lamented cobbler Petrlik, when he ordered his apprentice to take down his trousers before he started flogging him with a strap.'” show less
Quotes: (page 62) “Various degrees of torture had been introduced for malingerers and suspected malingerers, such as consumptives, rheumatics, people with hernia, kidney disease, typhus, diabetes, pneumonia, other diseases.”
(page 79) “For people who did not want to go to the front the last refuge was the garrison goal....'I don't want to be hated for my brutality,' he said to himself, and calmly stole the watch. First the examined his mental condition but, when he said he wanted to get rich quick, they sent him off to the garrison goal. There were a lot more people like that sitting there for theft or fraud- idealists and non-idealists. There were people who saw the war as a way of increasing their income, those various quartermaster sergeants at the base or at the front who were up to all possible kinds of fiddles with messing and pay, and also petty thieves who were a thousand times more honest than the blackguards who sent them there. And soldiers sat there who had committed various other offenses of a purely military kind such as insubordination, attempted mutiny or desertion. Then came the political prisoners who were in a special class; eighty percent of them were utterly innocent and of these ninety-nine per cent were sentenced...The aura of past power and glory clings to the courts, police, gendarme and venal pack of informers.”
(pages 236-237) “At that moment Svejk looked as if he had fallen down from the sky from some other planet and he was now looking with naive wonder at a new world where people where demanding from him idiotic nonsense which he had never heard of before, like documents.
The lieutenant looked a Svejk and reflected for a moment on what he should say to him and what questions he should put to him.
In the end he asked:'And what were you doing at the station?'
'Humbly report, sir, I was waiting for the train to Ceske Budejovice, so that I could rejoin my 91st regiment, where I am serving as batman to Lieutenant Lukas. I had to leave him behind, when I was brought before the station master for a fine. I was under suspicion of having used the safety and emergency brake and stopped the express in which we were traveling.'
'You're driving up a wall,' shouted the lieutenant. 'Speak connectedly and to the point and cut out this drivel.'
'Humbly report, sir, we had bad luck form the very first moment that Lieutenant Lukas and I got onto that express, which was to take us away and convey us a quickly as possible to our 91st Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment. First we lost a suitcase and then again, so as to get it quite straight, a major-general, who was completely bald...'
'Himmelherrgott,' sighed the lieutenant.
'Humbly report, sir, it's got to be shaken out of me like our of hariy rug in order to get a proper view of all events, if I'm permitted to quote the favorite words of the late lamented cobbler Petrlik, when he ordered his apprentice to take down his trousers before he started flogging him with a strap.'” show less
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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. 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 show more 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. 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 show more 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
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 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 show more 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 show more 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
World War I breaks out, thousands of men are mobilised from all regions of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Czech dog thief, Schweik (or Švejk in the Czech), is one of the empire's subjects, and on hearing about the assassination of the Archduke, loudly voices his support of the army. Unsure as to whether he is mad or sarcastic, he is sent to prison. What follows is how Schweik gets out of prison, a hospital and even out of serving at the front, all using his wiles.
I can see why this was banned for many years by the military in many countries, Schweik is a deeply subversive character. He outwits his superiors by acting as if he were stupid, driving them to distraction. He follows their orders to the letter, causing much chaos and show more confusion. I did end up pitying Lieutenant Lukash, who wins Schweik from the chaplain, he has really met his match in his batman.
I loved this! It was amusing, as well as insightful on the different nations that made up the Austro-Hungarian empire. Hašek gives us not only a satire on the army and war, but also of the church and people in power. Whilst it is very much set in a specific period, we still live in an time with war, so this anti-war novel is still relevant. show less
I can see why this was banned for many years by the military in many countries, Schweik is a deeply subversive character. He outwits his superiors by acting as if he were stupid, driving them to distraction. He follows their orders to the letter, causing much chaos and show more confusion. I did end up pitying Lieutenant Lukash, who wins Schweik from the chaplain, he has really met his match in his batman.
I loved this! It was amusing, as well as insightful on the different nations that made up the Austro-Hungarian empire. Hašek gives us not only a satire on the army and war, but also of the church and people in power. Whilst it is very much set in a specific period, we still live in an time with war, so this anti-war novel is still relevant. show less
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Author Information
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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 complications in which Schweik becomes involved derive from show more 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
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Good Soldier Švejk
- Original title
- Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války
- Alternate titles*
- De lotgevallen van de brave soldaat Švejk in de wereldoorlog; De brave soldaat Švejk
- Original publication date
- 1921
- People/Characters
- Josef Švejk; Lieutenant Lukash; Lieutenant Dub; Quartermaster-Sergeant Vanek; Baloun; Cadet Biegler (show all 7); Otto Katz
- Important places
- Prague, Czech Republic; Austro-Hungarian Empire
- Important events
- World War I
- Related movies
- The Good Soldier Schweik (1960 | IMDb)
- First words
- 'And so they've killed our Ferdinand', said the charwoman to Mr Svejk, who had left military service years before, after having been finally certified by an army medical board as an imbecile, and now lived by selling dogs - u... (show all)gly, mongrel monstrosities whose pedigrees he forged.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Here slept Josef Schweik of Prague, Company Orderly of the 11th Draft of the 91st Regiment who while looking for Billets was taken Prisoner near Felstyn by the Austrians by Misteak.
- Publisher's editor*
- A. Synek, Praag
- Original language
- Czech
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 891.8635
- Canonical LCC
- PG5038.H28 O713
- 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.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- DDC/MDS
- 891.8635 — Literature & rhetoric Asian Literature East Indo-European and Celtic literatures West and South Slavic languages (Bulgarian, Slovene, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, and Macedonian) Czech Czech fiction 1900–1989
- LCC
- PG5038 .H28 .O713 — Language and Literature Slavic languages and literatures. Baltic languages. Albanian language Slavic. Baltic. Albanian Slavic Czech
- BISAC
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