description: In The Good Soldier Švejk , celebrated Czech writer and anarchist Jaroslav Hašek combined dazzling wordplay and piercing satire in a hilariously subversive depiction of the futility of war.Good-natured and garrulous, Švejk becomes the Austrian army's most loyal Czech soldier when he is called up on the outbreak of World War I -- although his bumbling attempts to get to the front serve only to prevent him from reaching it. Playing cards and getting drunk, he uses all his cunning and genial subterfuge to deal with the police, clergy, and officers who chivy him toward battle.Cecil Parrott's vibrant translation conveys the brilliant irreverence of this classic about a hapless Everyman caught in a vast bureaucratic machine.
language: English
title: The Good Soldier Schweik and His Fortunes in the Great War
titlecomplete: The Good Soldier Schweik and His Fortunes in the Great War
characters: Volunteer Marek, Bretschneider, Lieutenant Lukáš, Captain Tayrle, Palivec, Colonel Friedrich Kraus von Zillergut, Josef Švejk, 2nd Lieutenant Dub, Chaplain Martinec, "Sergeant Teveles", Vodička, Chaplain Otto Katz, Staff Warder Slavík, General Fink von Finkenstein, Cadet Biegler, Captain Sagner, Quartermaster Sergeant-Major Vaněk, Baloun, Jurajda, Colonel Schröder
genres: 20th Century, Czech Literature, Historical Fiction, World War I, Novels, Literature, Classics, War, Fiction, Humor
ratings_count: 18540
places: Prague (Praha)
series: The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War
awards: awardedAt: 694252800000
name: Kääntäjien valtionpalkinto
publisher: Signet Classics