Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lukescalone 's review for:
The Good Soldier Švejk
by Jaroslav Hašek
"A monarchy as idiotic as this ought not to exist at all."
And so the eponymous Josef Svejk summarizes this book in one sentence. This book is, above all, a parody of the Habsburg Empire during World War I--especially in regards to its bureaucracy and its nationalities policy. Scholars have been perplexed for years over whether Svejk really is an idiot, or if he fakes it with absolute success. Although the story is centered on Svejk himself, we readers--between all of the "Sir, I humbly report that..."s and time in prison--develop a reasonable understanding of the society Hasek is criticizing (from his perspective, at least).
However, the majority of the good material in this book takes place in part 1 and earlier chapters of part 2. After that, Hasek seems to lose sight of Svejk and he unfortunately becomes de-centered. With that, the humor is more forced and other--less sympathetic--characters gain more space. The second half of the book is worth skimming, but is not necessary to read closely to gain a good sense of why Svejk is so popular.
Undoubtedly, I will teach early chapters of this book alongside lectures on the Habsburgs and the outbreak of World War I. High recommend.
And so the eponymous Josef Svejk summarizes this book in one sentence. This book is, above all, a parody of the Habsburg Empire during World War I--especially in regards to its bureaucracy and its nationalities policy. Scholars have been perplexed for years over whether Svejk really is an idiot, or if he fakes it with absolute success. Although the story is centered on Svejk himself, we readers--between all of the "Sir, I humbly report that..."s and time in prison--develop a reasonable understanding of the society Hasek is criticizing (from his perspective, at least).
However, the majority of the good material in this book takes place in part 1 and earlier chapters of part 2. After that, Hasek seems to lose sight of Svejk and he unfortunately becomes de-centered. With that, the humor is more forced and other--less sympathetic--characters gain more space. The second half of the book is worth skimming, but is not necessary to read closely to gain a good sense of why Svejk is so popular.
Undoubtedly, I will teach early chapters of this book alongside lectures on the Habsburgs and the outbreak of World War I. High recommend.