The Good Soldier Svejk
Jaroslav Hašek
1921
Around 230 pages
I recently read this on a flight to Iceland, which attracted the ire of the person behind me ("Are you really going to have that light on the entire time?"). Indeed, sir. It was of tantamount importance that I finish my picture book.
The novel begins with news of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Svejk is so anxious to join the Austrian army that he freaks everybody out, and gets arrested. I almost feel like I was reading the Czech version of Forrest Gump.
There was a bit of a cultural disconnect here for me. I didn't get all the allusions, and the novel didn't really hold your hand through them. The story went all over the place with ultimately irrelevant plot lines. I didn't really enjoy the ride.
One of the major themes seemed to be that there is no such thing as the "perfect soldier" because if that person existed, they would be sent to a mental institution. I get that, and it's nice that we are introducing a wave of anti-war novels. But not a particularly enjoyable novel for me.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Translated in over 50 languages, and remains the most translated work of Czech literature.
Joseph Keller said he wouldn't have written Catch-22 if he hadn't read this book. Now I can get on board.
UP NEXT: The Castle by Franz Kafka. I must deal with my Kafka guilt of reading books he never wanted read.
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