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'' The Good Soldier Švejk '' (spelled '''Schweik''' or '''Schwejk''' in many translations, and '''pronounced''' /ʃvɛjk/) is the shortened title of the world-famous unfinished Novel written by Czech humorist Jaroslav Hašek in 1921-22. It was fully illustrated by Josef Lada after Hašek's death. The original Czech title of the work is ''Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války'', literally ''The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War''. Hašek originally intended ''Švejk'' to cover a total of six volumes, but had only completed four (which are now usually merged into one book) upon his death from Tuberculosis in 1923 . PLOT SUMMARY as Schwejk ( 1972 )]] The novel tells a story of the Czech veteran Josef Švejk who, after having been drafted back into the army as Cannon Fodder to die for an Emperor he despises, proceeds to undermine the Austro-Hungarian Army 's war effort by "švejking". "Švejking" is the method for surviving "švejkárna", which is a situation or institution of systemic absurdity requiring the employment of "švejking" for one to survive and remain untouched by it. Švejk's method of subverting the Austrian Empire is to carry out his orders to an absurd conclusion. "''Švejkovat''", "to švejk"' has since become a common Czech word. The action of the novel begins in the very first days of the First World War and describes events taking place during its first year, as Svejk joins the army and has various adventures, first in rear areas, and then during the long journey to the front lines. The unfinished novel breaks off abruptly before Svejk has a chance to be involved in any combat or even enter the trenches. LITERARY SIGNIFICANCE & CRITICISM :"Like Diogenes, Švejk lingers at the margins of an unfriendly society against which he is defending his independent existence."'' - Peter Steiner, 'Tropos Kynikos: Jaroslav Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk', Poetics Today 19:4 (1998), pp.469-98. Jaroslav Hašek and in particular this novel have been subjects of innumerable articles, essays, studies, and books. Written by a great variety of individuals, ranging from friends and acquaintances, to admirers, detractors, and literary scholars, they started appearing almost immediately after the publication of the unfinished novel and the author's premature death in 1923. Jaroslav Hašek was one of the earliest writers of what we have come to know as Modernist Literature . He experimented with verbal collage, Dadaism and the surreal. Hašek was writing modern fiction before exalted post-World-War-I writers like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner. A number of literary critics consider ''The Good Soldier Švejk'' to be one of the first anti-war novels, having predated nearly every other anti-war novel of note, at a time when such writings were not "in". According to one critic, only the first two-thirds of '' The Red Badge Of Courage '' precedes it. ''The Good Soldier Švejk'' even predated that quintessential First World War novel, '' All Quiet On The Western Front ''. More familiar to today’s readers, perhaps, is Joseph Heller’s '' Catch-22 '', set in World War II . Although predating it by almost 50 years, Hašek’s biting satire and humor is its direct ancestor also, as well as that of many others. Joseph Heller said that if it weren’t for his having read ''The Good Soldier Švejk'' he would never had written his American novel ''Catch-22'' {Link without Title} . :"And yet in some ways this novel is obviously about a good deal more than war. After all, while there are a great many caustic comments and satirical moments when the inhumanity of modern military life is exposed for the idiotic folly it is, there are no combat scenes in the novel, and we are never given a detailed and sustained glimpse of soldiers killing and being killed. There is very little attention paid to weapons or training or conduct which is unique to military experience. In addition, a great deal of the satire of what goes on in the army has little to do with its existence of the army per se and is much more focused on the military as an organization with a complex chain of command, complicated procedures, and a system of authority, whose major function, it seems, is to order people around in ways they never fully understand (perhaps because they are beyond anyone’s comprehension)." - Ian Johnston in [http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/praguepage/hasek.htm On Hašek’s The Good Soldier Švejk] ALLUSIONS/REFERENCES TO ACTUAL HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY AND CURRENT SCIENCE cartoons]] The novel is set during World War I in Austria-Hungary, a country which was a figment of bureaucratic imagination, with borders constructed by political compromise and military conquest and which held in subjection numerous nationalities, with different languages and cultures, for 300 years. The multiethnic, and in this respect modern Empire was full of long-standing grievances and tensions. World War I, amplified by modern weapons and techniques, quickly escalated to become a massive human meatgrinder. Fifteen million people died, one million of them Austrian soldiers. Jaroslav Hašek participated in this conflict and examined it in ''The Good Soldier Švejk''. The German-speaking Habsburgs and their imperial administrators had ruled the Czech Lands from 1526 . By the arrival of the 20th century, Prague, the seat of the Czech Kingdom, had become a boomtown. Large numbers of people had come to the city from the countryside to participate in the industrial revolution. The rise of a large working class spawned a cultural revolution. The Austro-Hungarian Empire ignored these changes and became more and more decrepit and anachronistic. As the system decayed, it became absurd and irrelevant to ordinary people. When forced to respond to dissent, the imperial powers did so, more often than not, with hollow propaganda and repression. ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS At least three English-language translations of ''Švejk'' have been published:
The translations are generally perceived as evolving from good to better. The latest translation is still a work in progress: Book One is in print, Book Two is available as an e-book, i.e. a PDF file, and the last volume, containing Books Three & Four is being edited and proofread in 2006. A hefty 784 page paperback of the Parrott translation edition was reprinted in New York by Viking Press in 1990 with ISBN 0140182748 FILM, TV OR THEATRICAL ADAPTATIONS
''The Good Soldier Švejk'' inspired Bertolt Brecht to write a play continuing his adventures in the World War II . It was aptly titled ''Schweyk in the Second World War''. It became the subject of comic books, films, an opera, a musical, statues, and the theme of many restaurants in a number of European countries . TRIVIA The extreme popularity of the novel in Poland led to creation of a common noun ''szwej'' denoting a kind of street-wise soldier, as opposed to newly-drafted ''cats''. Arthur Koestler worked on an uncompleted sequel. The Good Soldier Svejk is also cited by the band British Sea Power as a major influence in their songs, albums and general attitude and ethos. SEE ALSO
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