Jaroslav Hašek Livres

"Vous n'auriez pas, par hasard, une ceinture sur vous pour que j'en finisse ? - Si, et je vous la prêterai volontiers, répondit Chvéïk en quittant sa ceinture, d'autant plus que je n'ai encore jamais vu comment on fait pour se pendre dans une cellule. Ce qui est embêtant, continua-t-il en regardant autour de lui, c'est qu'il n'y a pas un seul piton ici." Le brave soldat Chvéïk (Dobrý voják Švejk) est un roman satirique inachevé de l'écrivain tchèque Jaroslav Hašek (1883-1923), publié en quatre tomes de 1921 à 1923. Les trois premiers tomes sont intégralement de l'auteur, tandis que le quatrième a dû être achevé après sa mort par son ami Karel Vanek. L'œuvre relate sur le mode de l'absurde et du grotesque les pérégrinations de Josef Chvéïk, brave Tchèque de Prague vivant à l'époque de la Grande Guerre, sous la domination austro-hongroise.

Prague, 1914 : le vendeur de chiens Josef vejk part en guerre la fleur au fusil. Mais l'administration de la Monarchie austro-hongroise ne sait que faire de cet encombrant soldat, a la fois roublard et naif, intarissable raconteur d'histoires. Commence pour vejk une odyssée qui le menera a travers toutes les couches de la société praguoise, de la prison a l'auberge, de l'hôpital psychiatrique a l'aumônerie, du bureau de recrutement au boudoir...

Où l'on retrouve le brave soldat Chvéïk et son officier, le lieutenant Lucas, souvent séparés mais qui finissent toujours par se rejoindre, unis comme cul et chemise. Virtuose du sabotage par excès de zèle, Chvéïk entraîne Lucas dans les pires catastrophes. La fourberie génialement crétine du brave soldat, comme l'a écrit le critique Václavek, fait exploser une satire d'une extrême violence. L'armée, la guerre, la bureaucratie de l'Empire austro-hongrois, et finalement toute autorité en font les frais.

The eponymous hero of The Good Soldier Svejk-- the book for which the Czech writer Jaroslav Hasek will forever be remembered--has virtually come to define, since his creation in the aftermath of World War I, the spirit of comic endurance necessary to withstand the manglings of a modern-day bureaucratic war machine. Shrewd, affable, possessed of an unerring talent for finding himself in (and extricating himself from) the most fitfully chaotic and absurd situations, Svejk represents, in his instinct for survival, all those human values which stand opposed to the utter futility of warfare. With an introduction from, and translated by, Cecil Parrott. (Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)

"Here in Bohemia neither the YMCA, nor the Salvation Army can achieve much with their obsession that the Prohibition is the best gift to humanity. However, alcoholism in this country is a historical fact, supported by a number of privileges given by our kings who granted rights to towns to brew beer and their subjects to drink it."

The final volume of Jaroslav Hašek's series encompasses Book Three and the incomplete Book Four, reflecting the author's struggles with health as he navigated the chaos of World War I. Although intended to consist of six books, this installment captures the essence of the protagonist's satirical and absurd adventures, showcasing Hašek's unique humor and poignant commentary on war. Despite its unfinished nature, the work is seen as a fitting conclusion to the narrative that established Hašek's literary legacy.

Set against the backdrop of World War I, this book presents a humorous exploration of life before the war through the eyes of the protagonist, vejk. It vividly depicts the familiar settings of pubs, politics, and daily struggles, showcasing how life continues unchanged even as he dons a military uniform. The narrative highlights the absurdity of military life, likening it to the police force, and emphasizes the camaraderie and resilience of soldiers. This first installment lays the groundwork for vejk's upcoming adventures at the front.

Jaroslav Hasek is best known for his satirical masterpiece "The Good Soldier Svejk." That has been described as 'Perhaps the funniest novel ever written.' Although his life was short and chaotic, Hasek did however write more as this volume tellingly reveals. In his preface, Cecil Parrott, translator and biographer of Hasek, crisply defines its purpose.. 'All the world has heard of Svejk, but few are familiar with the countless other characters Hasek created in his stories and sketches, which together with his feuilletons and articles are though to number some twelve hundred. The best of these deserve to be made available to the Western public and are included in this volume.' The range is wide. There is a selection from his Bugulma stories (Hasek as Bolshevik and Red Commissar), some early Svejk stories, reminiscences of Hasek's apprenticeship days, and the hilariously funny speeches made by Hasek when promoting his political 'Party of Moderate Progress within the bounds of the Law'.

Hasek wrote 'Good Soldier Svejk' in the last years of his life (1921-3), but he was established as a humorist and satirist before the First World War. This selection of stories and sketches of Prague life from that period revels in the seething, bureaucratic world of the Czech capital.

Good-natured and garrulous, Svejk 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.