Home | Books By Year | Books from 1922


The Good Soldier vejk

Buy The Good Soldier vejk now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the book. And once you've experienced the book, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'The Good Soldier vejk' is an unfinished satirical dark comedy novel by Czech writer Jaroslav Haek, published in 19211923, about a good-humored, simple-minded, middle-aged man who pretends to be enthusiastic to serve Austria-Hungary in World War I.

'The Good Soldier vejk' is the abbreviated title; the original Czech title of the work is 'Osudy dobrho vojka vejka za svtov vlky', literally 'The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier vejk During the World War'. The book is the most translated novel of Czech literature, having been translated into over 50 languages.

Publication



Haek originally intended 'vejk' to cover a total of six volumes, but had completed only three (and started on the fourth) upon his death from heart failure on January 3, 1923.

The novel as a whole was originally illustrated (after Haek's death) by Josef Lada and more recently by Czech illustrator Petr Urban.

The volumes are:

# 'Behind the Lines' ('V zzem', 1921)

# 'At the Front' ('Na front', 1922)

# 'The Glorious Licking' ('Slavn vprask', 1922)

# 'The Glorious Licking Continues' ('Pokraovn slavnho vprasku', 1923; unfinished)

Following Haek's death, journalist Karel Vank was asked by the publisher Adolf Synek to complete the unfinished novel. Vank finished the fourth book in 1923 and in the same year also released the fifth and the sixth volumes, titled 'vejk in Captivity' ('vejk v zajet') and 'vejk in Revolution' ('vejk v revoluci'). Novels were published until 1949. In 1991 volumes 5 and 6 were again released as 'vejk in Russian Captivity and Revolution' ('vejk v Ruskm zajet a v revoluci'), in two volumes or combined.

Themes



The novel is set during World War I in Austria-Hungary, a multi-ethnic empire full of long-standing ethnic tensions. Fifteen million people died in the war, one million of them Austro-Hungarian soldiers, including around 140,000 who were Czechs. Haek participated in this conflict and examined it in 'The Good Soldier vejk'.

Many of the situations and characters seem to have been inspired, at least in part, by Haek's service in the 91st Infantry Regiment of the Austro-Hungarian Army. The novel also deals with broader anti-war themes: essentially a series of absurdly comic episodes, it explores the pointlessness and futility of conflict in general and of military discipline, Austrian military discipline in particular. Many of its characters, especially the Czechs, are participating in a conflict they do not understand on behalf of an empire to which they have no loyalty.

The character of Josef vejk is a development of this theme. Through (possibly feigned) idiocy or incompetence, he repeatedly manages to frustrate military authority and expose its stupidity in a form of passive resistance: the reader is left unclear, however, as to whether vejk is genuinely incompetent, or acting quite deliberately with dumb insolence. These absurd events reach a climax when vejk, wearing a Russian uniform, is mistakenly taken prisoner by his own side.

In addition to satirising Habsburg authority, Haek repeatedly sets out corruption and hypocrisy attributed to priests of the Catholic Church.

Plot summary



, Poland

The story begins in Prague with news of the assassination in Sarajevo that precipitates World War I.

vejk displays such enthusiasm about faithfully serving the Austrian Emperor in battle that no one can decide whether he is merely an imbecile or is craftily undermining the war effort. He is arrested by a member of the state police, Bretschneider, after making some politically insensitive remarks, and is sent to prison. After being certified insane he is transferred to a madhouse, before being ejected.

, Poland

vejk gets his charwoman to wheel him (he claims to be suffering from rheumatism) to the recruitment offices in Prague, where his apparent zeal causes a minor sensation. He is transferred to a hospital for malingerers because of his rheumatism. He finally joins the army as batman to army chaplain Otto Katz. Katz was well able to avoid being sent to the front, managing to have a soft military job in Prague.

However, Katz loses vejk at cards to Senior Lieutenant Luk, whose batman he then becomes - which would eventually lead him to the front.

Luk is posted with his march battalion to barracks in esk Budjovice, in Southern Bohemia, preparatory to being sent to the front. After missing all the trains to Budjovice, vejk embarks on a long anabasis on foot around Southern Bohemia in a vain attempt to find Budjovice, before being arrested as a possible spy and deserter (a charge he strenuously denies) and escorted to his regiment.

The regiment is soon transferred to Bruck an der Leitha, a town on the border between Austria and Hungary. Here, where relations between the two nationalities are somewhat sensitive, vejk is again arrested, this time for causing an affray involving a respectable Hungarian citizen and engaging in a street fight. He is also promoted to company orderly.

The unit embarks on a long train journey towards Galicia and the Eastern Front. Close to the front line, vejk is taken prisoner by his own side as a suspected Russian deserter, after arriving at a lake and trying on an abandoned Russian uniform. Narrowly avoiding execution, he manages to rejoin his unit. The unfinished novel breaks off abruptly before vejk has a chance to be involved in any combat or enter the trenches, though it appears Haek may have conceived that the characters would have continued the war in a POW camp, much as he himself had done.

The book includes numerous anecdotes told by vejk (often either to deflect the attentions of an authority figure or to insult them in a concealed manner) which are not directly related to the plot.

Selected characters



The characters of 'The Good Soldier vejk' are generally either used as the butt of Haek's absurdist humour or represent fairly broad social and ethnic stereotypes found in the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time. People are often distinguished by the dialect and register of Czech or German they speak, a quality that does not translate easily. Many German- and Polish-speaking characters, for example, are shown as speaking comedically broken or heavily accented Czech, while many Czechs speak broken German; much use is also made of slang expressions.

Some characters are to varying degrees based on real people who served with the Imperial and Royal 91st Infantry Regiment, in which Haek served as a one-year volunteer. (Much research has been conducted into this issue and the results are part of the [http://www.honsi.org/literature/svejk/?page=4&lang=en catalog of all 585 people], both real and fictitious, that appear in the novel.)

;Josef vejk: The novel's hero: in civilian life a dealer in stolen dogs. Based partly on Frantiek Stralipka, the young batman to Oberleutnant Rudolf Lukas, Haek's company commander.

;Palivec: The foul-mouthed landlord of vejk's local pub the "U Kalicha" ("At the Chalice") on Na Bojiti street, Prague. Despite refusal to discuss any politics ("it smells of Pankrc") Palivec is eventually arrested by Bretschneider (see below) after commenting that flies shit on the portrait of Franz Joseph in the pub.

;Police Agent Bretschneider: A secret policeman who repeatedly tries to catch vejk and others out on their anti-monarchist views. He is eventually eaten by his own dogs, after buying a succession of animals from vejk in an attempt to incriminate him.

;Staff Warder Slavk: A cruel and corrupt prison official (revealed to have himself ended up in prison under the Republic of Czechoslovakia).

;Military chaplain Otto Katz: Has a fondness for drinking, especially good communion wine, and gambling. vejk seems fond of Katz, but the latter loses the services of vejk to Lieutenant Luk in a game of cards.

;Oberleutnant Luk: vejk's long-suffering company commander. A Czech from South Bohemia, Luk is something of a womanizer but is depicted in a broadly sympathetic manner by Haek (the records of the real-life 91st Regiment show an Oberleutnant Rudolf Lukas the same rank as the character at the time of Haek's service; Haek admired Lukas and even wrote him a number of poems. Lukas was Haek's company commander.Parrott, C. "Introduction" to 'The Good Soldier Svejk', Penguin, 1974, p. xi) Though vejk's actions eventually lead to Luk' being labelled as a notorious philanderer in the Hungarian national press, he starts to miss vejk after the latter is promoted to company orderly.

;Colonel Friedrich Kraus von Zillergut: An idiotic Austrian officer with a penchant for giving his colleagues long-winded, moronic explanations of everyday objects (such as thermometers and postage stamps) and situations; run over by a cart while attempting to demonstrate what a pavement is. Kraus's dog is stolen by vejk as a gift for Luk; the enraged colonel subsequently arranges Luk's transfer to the front.

;Captain Sgner: One of the regiment's professional officers and commander of vejk's march battalion; an ambitious careerist, he is later revealed to have been a closet Czech patriot in his youth. A Captain Vinzenz Sagner served in the 91st Regiment, where he was Haek's battalion commander.

;Colonel Schrder: The bad-tempered colonel of vejk's regiment, and a caricature of typical German-speaking senior officers of the Austrian army.

;Jurajda: The battalion's spiritualist cook; before military service he had edited an "occultist" journal. Spends time attempting to avoid frontline service through letters he is writing to his wife, in which he details meals he is intending to cook for senior officers.

;2nd Lieutenant Dub: Dub is a Czech schoolmaster, reserve officer, and commander of the battalion's 3rd company: he has strongly monarchist views. As a conservative, pro-Habsburg Czech, Dub is the subject of some of Haek's most vicious satire. Repeatedly placed in humiliating situations, such as being found drunk in a brothel or falling off a horse (in all Slavonic languages the word 'dub' ('oak') itself is a common synonym for a dull, idiotic person(dubious)). He is said to have been based on a lieutenant of the reserve, Mechlek, who served in Haek's regiment The novel is ended by words of lieutenant Dub:with the district governor, we always said: Patriotism, loyalty to duty, self-overcoming, these are the real weapons in war! I remember this especially today, when our troops will cross the border in the foreseeable future. "

;Quartermaster Sergeant-Major Vank: Another recurring character, Vank (a chemist from Kralupy nad Vltavou in civilian life) is an example of an easy-going but self-serving senior NCO, whose main concern is to make his own existence as comfortable as possible. A Jan Vank served in Haek's regiment, and has some traits in common with the figure from the novel (domicile and occupation).

;Volunteer Marek: The character of one-year volunteer Marek is to some degree a self-portrait by the author, who was himself a one-year volunteer in the 91st. For example, Marek  like Haek  was fired from the editorship of a natural history magazine after writing articles about imaginary animals. Marek is appointed the battalion historian by Sgner and occupies himself with devising memorable and heroic deaths in advance for his colleagues.

;First-Class Private Vodika: A sapper friend of vejk noted mainly for his extreme hatred of Hungarians, which leads to an unfortunate incident in Bruck an der Leitha.

;Lieutenant Biegler (Cadet Biegler): Biegler is a young junior officer with pretensions to nobility, despite being the middle-class son of a furrier. Biegler takes his military duties so seriously that he is ridiculed even by his senior officers, and is mistakenly hospitalised as a "carrier of cholera germs" after medical staff misdiagnose (for army PR reasons) a cognac-induced hangover. Cadet Biegler also had a real-life model in the 91st regiment (Cadet Johann Biegler, later lieutenant).

;Captain Tayrle: The brigade adjutant and a particularly disgusting example of a headquarters officer, whose interests appear to lie mainly in crude jokes and sampling of local prostitutes.

;General Fink von Finkenstein: An aristocratic, vicious and near-insane senior Austrian officer and commander of the garrison fort of Przemyl, Fink treats his men with extreme brutality. He almost succeeds in having vejk executed after the latter is taken prisoner by his own side. His name and look in 1958 film is based on Prussian general Karl Fink von Finkenstein.

;Chaplain Martinec: A chaplain plagued by drink-induced spiritual doubts, whose attempt to provide spiritual consolation to vejk ends in disaster.

;"Sergeant Teveles": A man in possession of a silver Military Merit Medal, purchased from a Bosnian, and claiming to be a Sergeant Teveles, who had previously disappeared along with the entire 6 March Company during fighting in Belgrade.

;Private Baloun: A miller from esk Krumlov in civilian life, and vejk's successor as Luk's batman, Baloun is a glutton and is regularly punished for stealing Luk's food. He eats raw dough, sausage skins, etc., when nothing else is available.

Literary significance and criticism



A number of literary critics consider 'The Good Soldier vejk' to be one of the first anti-war novels, predating Erich Maria Remarque's 'All Quiet on the Western Front'. Joseph Heller said that if he had not read 'The Good Soldier vejk', he would never have written his novel 'Catch-22'.

Sue Arnold, writing in 'The Guardian', stated "Every harassed negotiator, every beleaguered political wife and anyone given to ever-increasing moments of melancholy at the way things are should keep a copy of Hasek's classic 'don't let the bastards get you down' novel to hand. It's anti-war, anti-establishment, anti-religion and - praise indeed - even funnier than Catch-22."

Broader cultural influence



The seeming idiocy and suspected subversion of vejk has entered the Czech language in the form of words such as 'vejkovina' ("vejking"), 'vejkovat' ("to vejk"), 'vejkrna' (situational and systemic absurdity), etc. The name has also entered the English dictionary, in the form of 'Schweik', "A person likened to the character of Schweik, pictured as an unlucky and simple-minded but resourceful little man oppressed by higher authorities," and the derivative forms 'to Schweik', 'Schweikism', and 'Schweikist'.'Schweik'. Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. 2005.

In the British television documentary 'Hollywood' (1979), a history of American silent films, director Frank Capra claimed the screen character of comedian Harry Langdon, which Capra helped to formulate, was partially inspired by 'The Good Soldier vejk'.

At Prague's NATO summit in 2002, a man dressed as the Good Soldier and using Svejk's typical crutches to support himself, appeared at an anti-alliance protest, shouting at the top of his voice: "To Baghdad, Mrs Muller, to Baghdad...", showing just how deep the character is etched on the Czech psyche.

Adaptations and sequels



vejk is the subject of [https://svejkcentral.com/Film films], [https://svejkcentral.com/Plays plays], [https://svejkcentral.com/Music an opera, a musical], comic books, and statues, even the theme of [https://svejkcentral.com/Restaurants restaurants] in a number of European countries. The novel is also the subject of an unpublished operetta by Peter Gammond. vejk has many [https://svejkcentral.com/Sochy statues and monuments], for example, at Humenn in Slovakia; Przemyl and Sanok in Poland; St. Petersburg, Omsk, and Bugulma in Russia and Kyiv, Lviv, and Donetsk in Ukraine. In Krakw, there is a plaque on a building where the author was imprisoned for 7 days for vagrancy by the Austrian authorities. There has been speculation that Haek got the idea for vejk at that time, based on one of his fellow prisoners in the jail. The first statue of vejk in the Czech Republic was unveiled in August 2014, in the village of Putim in South Bohemia.

*19271928: Piscatorbhne, Nollendorfplatz, Berlin. 'The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schwejk' stage play adapted from Haek's novel by Max Brod, Hans Reimann, Erwin Piscator, , and Bertolt Brecht, with sets by George Grosz.

* 1935: Arthur Koestler mentions in his autobiography that in 1935 he was commissioned by Willy Mnzenberg, the Comintern propagandist, to write a novel called 'The Good Soldier Schweik Goes to War Again'. He adds that the project was cancelled by the Communist Party when half the book had been written due to what they termed the book's "pacifist errors". Writing in 1954, Koestler stated that "about a hundred pages of the manuscript survive, and are in parts quite funny, in a coarsely farcical manner". However, Koestler by then a staunch anti-Communist never tried to get it published.

* 1943: Bertolt Brecht writes 'Schweik in the Second World War', a play which continues the adventures of vejk into World War II.

* 1958: Robert Kurka's 'The Good Soldier Schweik' premieres at the New York City Opera.

* 1965: BBC 60 minute television adaptation 'The Good Soldier Schweik' starring Kenneth Colley, John Collin and Felix Felton.

* 2002: Sotha of the Caf de la Gare writes a play, 'Le Brave Soldat Chvk s'en va au Ciel (The Good Soldier Schweik goes to Heaven)', based on novel.[http://www.lexpress.fr/culture/scene/theatre/30-ans-toutes-ses-dents_498236.html 30th Anniversary of Caf de la Gare], L'Express, August 15, 2002, (in French)

* 2008: BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a two-part radio adaptation starring Sam Kelly.BBC Radio 4 [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ffw77 The Good Soldier Svejk, episode 1] and [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fkgnj The Good Soldier Svejk, episode 2]

* 20172018: "The Good Soldier Schwejk", a stage play, United Kingdom, written and direct by Christine Edzard, produced by Sands Films

[https://svejkcentral.com/Film Film]

* 1931: Martin Fri films a black-and-white comedy based on the novel, starring Saa Railov as vejk.

* 1955: The Czech animator Ji Trnka adapts the novel as the animated film 'The Good Soldier Schweik (1955 film)', consisting of three episodes, with Jan Werich starring as the narrator.

* 195657: 'The Good Soldier Schweik (1956 film)' The most famous film adaptation. Czech film director Karel Stekl depicts the adventures of vejk in two color films, starring Rudolf Hrunsk as the title character. It was nominated for the 1957 Crystal Globe Awards.

* 1960: In West Germany the book was adapted to black-and-white film 'The Good Soldier Schweik (1960 film)' starring Heinz Rhmann.

* 1962: 'Velk cesta' ('The Long Journey') is a Czechoslovak-Soviet black-and-white co-production film, made at Mosfilm studios in Moscow, recounting parts of Haek's life that inspired much of 'The Good Soldier vejk'. It stars Josef Abraham as Jaroslav Haek and is directed by Jurij Ozerov.

* 196768: In Finland the book was adapted for television as a ten-part black-and-white series called 'Kunnon sotamies vejkin seikkailuja (The Adventures of the Good Soldier vejk)', starring Matti Varjo in the eponymous role.

* 1972: A 13-part Austrian TV series in color, 'Die Abenteuer des braven Soldaten Schwejk (The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schwejk)', directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner, is made and broadcast by the Austrian state TV (ORF). The title role is played by Fritz Muliar.

* 1986: Czechoslovak puppetoon version 'Osudy dobrho vojka vejka (The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik)' appears.

* 2009: '[https://svejkcentral.com/Film%20#clip The Good Soldier Shweik]', animated film, United Kingdom/Ukraine, written by Robert Crombie and directed by Rinat Gazizov and Manyk Depoyan.

Translations



It is the most translated novel of Czech literature (58 languages in 2013). Excerpts of 'Der Brave Soldat Schwejk' Chapter 1, translated into German by Max Brod, were published two days after Haek's death in the Prague German language paper, 'Prager Tagblatt', January 5, 1923. Following Max Brod's first steps toward a German translation, he introduced the book to Grete Reiner, Executive Editor of the anti-fascist magazine 'Deutsche Volkszeitung'. Her translation of vejk into German in 1926 was largely responsible for the speedy dissemination of vejk's fame across Europe. It was one of the books burned by the National Socialists in 1933. Her translation was said to be one of Bertolt Brecht's favourite books. Grete Reiner-Straschnow was murdered in Auschwitz on 9 March 1944. After the war, many other translations followed and vejk became the most famous Czech book abroad.

Three English-language translations of 'vejk' have been published:

* 'The Good Soldier Schweik', tr. Paul Selver, 1930.

* 'The Good Soldier vejk and His Fortunes in the World War', tr. Cecil Parrott, 1973; reprints: .

* 'The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier vejk During the World War', tr. Zdenk "Zenny" Sadlo (and Book One collaborator Emmett Joyce), in three volumes: in 1997 Book One and in 2009 Book Two and Book Three & Four .[http://www.zenny.com The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk During the World War]'

The first translation by Paul Selver was heavily abridged, reducing the novel to about two thirds of its original length. Selver's translation also bowdlerized the original text, omitting paragraphs and occasionally pages that may have seemed offensive: despite this he has been praised for preserving some of the tension in the work between Literary and Common Czech.Partridge in Classe (ed) (2000) 'Encyclopedia of Literary Translation into English: AL', Taylor & Francis, p. 682 Cecil Parrott, former British ambassador to Czechoslovakia, produced the first unabridged translation of the work. The translation by Sadlo (and Book One collaborator Joyce) is the latest, American translation by a native Czech speaker.

See also



* Czech literature

* Ivan Chonkin, a Soviet vejk

* 'No Time for Sergeants', an American novel of related theme

* 'Catch-22'

* Mandel Karlsson

* Kannoneer Jabrek

Notes



References




Buy The Good Soldier vejk now from Amazon

<-- Return to books from 1922



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1108181832.