Synopses & Reviews
The eponymous hero of
The Good Soldier Svejk—
the book for which the Czech writer Jaroslav Hasek will forever be remembered—has virtually come to define, since his creation in the aftermath of World War I, the spirit of comic endurance necessary to withstand the manglings of a modern-day bureaucratic war machine.
Shrewd, affable, possessed of an unerring talent for finding himself in (and extricating himself from) the most fitfully chaotic and absurd situations, Svejk represents, in his instinct for survival, all those human values which stand opposed to the utter futility of warfare.
With an introduction from, and translated by, Cecil Parrott.
(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)
Synopsis
The Good Soldier Svejk, written in the aftermath of World War I by Czech humorist Jaroslav Hasek (1883-1923), stands as the classic satiric portrait of a little man waging war against authority.
The unassuming and affable Svejk, having been called to serve in the Austro-Hungarian army at the start of the Great War, shrewdly plays the bumbling fool and makes a genial nuisance of himself, managing to avoid ever reaching the front while appearing loyally determined to do so. Possessed of an unerring talent for finding himself in (and extricating himself from) the most chaotic and absurd situations, Svejk represents, in his instinct for survival, all those human values that stand opposed to the utter futility of warfare. Hasek's novel, inspired by the author's own wartime escapades, has entertained readers in more than fifty languages for nearly a century and has come to define the spirit of comic endurance necessary to withstand the manglings of a modern-day bureaucratic war machine.
This hardcover edition, translated and introduced by Cecil Parrott, is lavishly illustrated with 156 drawings by Hasek's friend and colleague, the Czech cartoonist Josef Lada, and includes maps, a guide to pronouncing Czech names, a bibliography, and a chronology of the author's life and times.
(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)
Synopsis
(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)
Introduction and translation by Cecil Parrott
Synopsis
DE
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. xxx-xxxi).