The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hašek
and His Fortunes in the World War
"The Good Soldier Svejk" is a satirical novel set during World War I, following the story of a Czech soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army. Svejk, the protagonist, is a simple-minded, good-natured man who is frequently arrested for bungling jobs due to his apparent idiocy. Despite his constant run-ins with authority, Svejk manages to maintain his cheerful disposition and even takes advantage of his perceived stupidity to manipulate the system. The book offers a humorous and critical perspective on the absurdity of war and the incompetence of military bureaucracy.
The 171st greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1921
- Nationality
- Czech
- Length
- Long
- Pages
- 600-750
- Words
- 208,000
- Original Language
- Czech
- Alternate Titles
-
- The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk
- The Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk
If you're interested in seeing the ranking details on this book go here
This book is on the following 18 lists:
- 1st on Tibor Fischer's Top 10 Eastern European Novels (The Guardian )
- 7th on Kanon na koniec wieku (Canon at the end of the century) (Rzeczpospolita (newspaper))
- 24th on Big Read (Bulgarian) (Bulgaria)
- 37th on 100 Books of Classical and Modern Foreign Literature (The Union of Russian Writers)
- 66th on Big Read (Hungarian) (Hungaria)
- 109th on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 230th on Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 1070th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- Best Books Ever (Book Depository)
- Books that Shaped the Century (LOGOS 20th Century Books Project)
- Världsbiblioteket (The World Library) (Tidningen Boken)
- The Best War and History Books of All Time (Telegraph)
- 100 Best Political Books (Guardian)
- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century (New York Public Library)
- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher (Die Zeit)