Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk is an absolutely essential read, it has to be in the list of the top 100 books to read before one departs this planet!
Not only is it hilariously funny it's also full of the tribulations of life and how the system—bureaucracies—here the army—lands one in absurd and unexpected situations.
It's a great shame Hašek died so young (he was a great observer of human nature).
Do yourself a real favor, read it or get an audio book.
One must wonder about the Czechs. There is the language for one thing. There is the resilience - Nazis, Communists and the Velvet Revolution. Then Closely Watched Trains, Zelary, Divided We Fall, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. And this. Maybe having an singular language does something?
There is the language for one thing.
having an singular language
What's that?
Czecho-Slovakia was a multicultural country with more than one language in common use. This was arguably one of the shortcomings that led to its WWII era capitulation.
Shortcomings? What is up with these military strategic analysis that imply that Chechoslovakia could do anything but getting different degrees of crushed between Germany, Hungary and Poland?
I've noticed an uptick in recent years of people who believe the multiculturalism is harmful to a society's survival. This is extremely popular with American right wingers who would like to limit immigration or segregate people by races.
One of my favorite examples of a multi-ethnic state in Europe (kind of biased since I have some ancestry from there) is the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. That lasted a good long while with a mix of Balts, West Slavs, and East Slavs.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth being a federation was hardly a mix. Also, despite the union's somewhat long existence, it was the union's multiculturalism that arguably led to its demise.
No sir, there was a mix. Any time you see a Lithuanian surname with "-auskas" it's because of exposure to Polish culture. There were tons of Poles in Vilnius. And Lithuanian aristocracy became rulers of Poland, starting with Jogaila.
But the most ridiculous thing is that multiculturalism killed it. It was partitioned by foreign imperial powers, eg. split between Russia and Germanic powers.
I would also argue that Poland being culturally dominant in the union, and eventually translating it to political dominance (of e.g. Roman Catholics over Eastern Orthodox) severely diminished the original GDL multiculturalism, which was much more pluricentric and religiously tolerant.
And that, arguably, was one of the causes of its eventual demise - e.g. would Ukraine have rebelled if they didn't perceive themselves as second-class citizens in Rzeczpospolita? And if it didn't, would Russia be able to eventually take over half of Poland?
First, he OP specifically mentions "the Czechs", as in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia.
Second, languages had nothing to do with it. There was an idea that sacrificing a part of Czechoslovakia will be enough to keep Hitler at bay (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Agreement).
Which Czech part, Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia, or ...? Was it the "regions with German-speaking majority"?
Languages had everything to do with it. "Bohemia became a part of Czechoslovakia, defying claims of the German-speaking inhabitants that regions with German-speaking majority should be included in the Republic of German-Austria."
But German, the language, was spoken pretty much everywhere (thanks to the Austro-Hungarian legacy).
The German-speaking inhabitants, that is a whole different story.
OK, now you're backpedaling and muddying the waters. Language and customs are the most prominent aspects of a cultural identity.
English is spoken pretty much everywhere. What's your point?
Read this https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1930-1938-th...
It might shape your view a bit
Not really, the Brits underestimated the Germans and Central Europe in general was sacrificed on the altar of presumingly keeping the war out of the West.
Yeah - If singular means distinct, and even setting aside Slovak, then Czech is part of the West Slavic language family and my Polish-speaking partner says there is a degree of mutual intelligibility.
Yes, they sound very similar, but (because of historical reasons) the spelling is quite different (multiple letters in Polish vs accents/diacritics in Czech).
They probably sound as similar to each other as German does to Danish.
I'd say that's roughly correct. Czech and Slovak have a different sound, melody.
Czechs and Slovaks tend to underestimate the differences, because they largely understand each other. But that's to a large degree thanks to a large amount of interchange and exposure. These days, many young Czechs without exposure to Slovak often understand only very little Slovak.
You're whitewashing at least the WWII era. The Czecho-Slovak government capitulated pretty quickly after Germany's demands, ..., and the country was used to support Germany's was efforts. TBH, they did not receive a whole lot of support from their prior allies, to say the least, ahead of the capitulation.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Czechoslovak_Republic
As an aside, hopefully the relative lack of support for Ukraine does not have similar outcomes. There are some significant similarities between the two.
This does not seem like a fair criticism or framing of the situation. Every country Germany occupied was used to support Germany's war efforts. The country had little choice but to surrender, they were hung out to dry by their allies.
Despite this, they still resisted at great personal cost. Heydrich was assassinated in Prague by Czech resistance fighters. The reprisals were brutal, with thousands killed in response. My grandmother who is still alive lived through this time. Every day at school they announced the names of those executed by the Natzis in order to intimidate the populace.
In my criticism I made a conscious effort to single out the Czechoslovak government (I should've probably narrowed it down to Beneš and Hácha in particular), as opposed to the citizenry. Perhaps surprisingly, after the outbreak of WWII, Beneš went on to be a leader of the resistance, though from exile.
The Hácha story may be a bit more complicated that it may seem at first. Not sure whether you're a Czech speaker, if so, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBPXsaTgHGQ
Thanks. The clip appears to discuss the history of scouts and their participation in the resistance. Is there a segment that is particularly relevant?
The whole Central European story is complicated. The countries were hashed and rehashed on fairly regular bases. Allegiances changed a lot. Leaders made serious mistakes. People were multidimensional.
That's no whitewashing. Not sure where you got this idea from but if you read the link to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Agreement you'd realize that what you wrote is completely incorrect and almost a lie. Czechia was not invited to that meeting and European superpowers decided that it should cede to Germany. Plus Germany invaded Czechia in 1939. Czechs would go to war and lost it in days (just look at the size and position) and would be a pariah in Europe if they didn't listen.
"The Czechoslovak capitulation precipitated an outburst of national indignation. In demonstrations and rallies, Czechs and Slovaks called for a strong military government to defend the integrity of the state. A new cabinet, under General Jan Syrový, was installed, and on 23 September 1938, a decree of general mobilization was issued. The Czechoslovak Army was modern, had an excellent system of frontier fortifications and was prepared to fight. The Soviet Union announced its willingness to come to Czechoslovakia's assistance. Beneš, however, refused to go to war without the support of the Western powers."
There's no citation for this in Wiki and Soviet Union and Germany signed Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact not that long after. So this quote (and Soviet Union/Russia in general as it's obvious why they would "help") is really not trustworthy and not based on evidence.
The Ribbentrop-Molotov agreement was secret, so I'm doubtful that the Czechoslovak government was aware of the machinations until long after it was signed.
Here's another quote restating the same info followed by a citation to Haslam, Jonathan (1983). Soviet Foreign Policy, 1930–33. The Impact of the Depression. New York: St. Martin's Press.:
"A new Czechoslovak cabinet, under General Jan Syrový, was installed and on 23 September a decree of general mobilization was issued which was accepted by the public with a strong enthusiasm – within 24 hours, one million men joined the army to defend the country. The Czechoslovak Army, modern, experienced and possessing an excellent system of frontier fortifications, was prepared to fight. The Soviet Union announced its willingness to come to Czechoslovakia's assistance"
Oh, and it was Czechoslovakia not Czechia. I'm curious why you're revising history yourself while questioning my sources.
TBH, they did not receive a whole lot of support from their prior allies, to say the least, ahead of the capitulation.
The "support" Czechoslovakia received from the western allies was an order to capitulate to German demands.
As a reminder, this was the situation in 1938: https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/u314/erding/Cz_map_15...
The situation was much more hopeless than e.g. Ukraine was/is in. The Czech part was almost completely surrounded by Germany (controlling Austria and Silesia). Slovak part had a long border with Nazi-allied Hungary. Poland was not friendly at the time (taking part in the partition). The only kinda friendly neighbor was the tiny sliver of border in the east with Romania.
If the Czechoslovakia decided to fight, it would be accused of aggression by the western powers (who basically declared Germany is in the right in Munich).
The claim of "participation" in the so called partition is inflammatory. You make it sound like Poland was a party to some kind of an agreement to dissolve Czechoslovakia, when there is no evidence of that, especially in retrospect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Czechoslovak_bo...
I agree that the Czechoslovakian situation was less hopeful than that of Ukraine, at least for the moment.
I think it’s pretty clear the comment was referring to the partition of the sudetenland, which Poland was absolutely a (albeit minor) participant in. But thank you for linking the article. I’ve always kinda assumed that Poland was given the territories by the Nazis as a way to spread the blame. Turns out they demanded it themselves outside of the Munich conference.
I think you're onto something. I don't speak Czech but I've been there a number of times and I know people who live there.
When Hašek wrote Švejk the Czechs were surrounded and influenced by vastly different nations—the crumbling remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire—which they were part of—the Russian Empire and Germany—both of which were in chaos after WWI. Even today they're still surrounded but at least now they're an independent nation with their own language so perhaps it's not surprising what comes out of them is quite unique.
It's quite some years since I saw Closely Watched Trains with English subtitles and it had a huge impact on me. It's one of those films that one cannot get out of one's mind for days. In its own understated way it's a great film and it's not surprising that it was a Czech production. Its ending upset me greatly because whilst its story was fiction, it reminded me of similar tragic scenarios that were played out for real many times during WWII (it seems to me one of the purposes of the film was to remind us of the fact).
BTW, when I first went to Czechoslovakia it was still under communist rule and the only practical (easiest) way to get from Vienna to Prague was by train from Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof and Emperor Franz Joseph Railway line. For some reason seeming known to the communists we had to use this single track line instead of the more modern dual track line via Brüno. I mention it because the Franz Joseph Railway was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to travel on, the track was in such terrible condition that one thought the train would derail any moment and the train only did about 30km/h max. After Communism fell the track via Brüno was opened up and although a much longer route the trip only took half as long.
When I went there first it was also still under communist rule, and the thing I still remember the most is that bread loaves commonly sold in the grocery stores had the price embossed into the crust (IIRC "5 Kčs"). Centrally controlled economies eh? So stable that it was practical to make price stamps distributed to bakeries. I wish I could get my hands on one of these brands...
"I wish I could get my hands on one of these brands..."
Ha, right. That brings back memories from when I was living and working in Vienna. When walking by building or construction sites around the city one would often come across bricks that were several centuries old and one could tell this because the molds from which the bricks were made had the coat of arms of whomever Hapsburg/Archduchy ruler of Austria was in power at the time embossed into them, thus bricks produced from them are time capsules time-stamped with the era from which they came.
It was commonplace to see bricks made, say, in the time of Archduchess Maria Theresa who—as we're talking about Czechoslovakia—was also Queen of Bohemia around the time of the Silesian Wars/Battle for Prague. (It seems to me the many wars in and around Bohemia over the centuries only adds to the point about why the Czechs are the way they are; essentially wars and politics likely framed Hašek's worldview and thus Švejk.)
Anyway, it had been my intension to souvenir one of these bricks in pristine condition and bring it back home to display on my mantelpiece but unfortunately I never quite got around to it. :-)
For me, one thing that truly stood out in Czechoslovakia under Communism which was in stark contrast with noncommunist countries was the lack advertising and billboards on streets and roadways and that was especially evident in big cities such as Prague.
Moreover, when I first went to Prague it seemed to me that I was stepping back in time as communist Prague had been preserved as a beautiful 18th Century city because the communists had done very little modernization during their time in power; that was also the situation for much of the country, witness my comment about the woefull state of the Emperor Franz Joseph Railway.
I recall reading somewhere the reason for why the 1984 movie Amadeus, which was about Mozart and his rival Salieri, was filmed in Prague, and it was because its center remained so much like it was in the 1780s as that was the period in which the film was set. The film's producers specifically made the point that the lack of visible advertising and billboards was one† of the primary reasons for choosing the city. That's not the situation now, not long after Communism fell Prague began to look like other Western cities, which to me seems like a shame.
That lack of modernization and not keeping up with best practice under Communism wasn't all positive. The crawling, almost walking speed of train trips on the Franz Joseph Railway line and various trips by car allowed me to spend much time looking out of windows at the countryside. On the train at some short distance south of Prague I recall seeing pollution from what seemed to be a cement factory. For miles around tree leaves were covered with a dirty cement-colored dust which gave the nearby countryside a horrible yellow-grayish appearance.
I may be wrong but after viewing both cities and countryside and talking with those who lived there I formed the opinion that back then this sort 'malaise' was reasonably widespread over much of the country. Nowadays, that's changed much for the better.
_
† Others were that Prague holds relevance for the story in that its present architecture is similar to Vienna of the 18th C. which made for an authentic backdrop, and that in the 1780s Mozart's Don Giovanni was deemed too salacious and sleazy for conservative Viennese society and had to have its premiere performance in more liberal Prague.
…why the 1984 movie Amadeus, which was about Mozart and his rival Salieri, was filmed in Prague…
Surely the director of Amedeus – Miloš Forman – being Czech played a role too.
It is much easier to cooperate with the local crew in their native language, relative to Hungarian / German (IIRC Budapest / Vienna were the other two options on the table for that film).
It was commonplace to see bricks made, say, in the time of Archduchess Maria Theresa
If you visit the cellar of an old house in Old Town / Lesser Town, chances are you'll find bricks much older than Maria Theresa. These cellars routinely date back to the original construction, 11-14th century (unlike the house on top, which has typically been rebuilt several times to match the latest fashion – gothic, baroque, rococo, etc).
Whether or not they let you take a brick home is a different matter :)
I grew up in the USSR, and while I don't remember this done with bread, prices were indeed routinely stamped on physical goods, even factory mass-produced ones (and those weren't stickers - it would often be literally engraved on the surface). Pretty much anything that already had any kind of label on it would have price embedded as part of that label, from appliances to matchboxes.
You reminded me of my own childhood. Yes, 5 Kčs was a standard price.
I was not yet 13 when the no-longer-Communist Czechoslovak government liberalized the prices. Back then, I was profoundly unsettled by the idea that the same loaf of bread could cost a different amount of money in two different stores.
It felt as unnatural as having multiple birthdays.
A large part of Švejk’s humor comes from the multilingual nature of the Austro-Hungarian empire at that time.
The common soldiers speak Czech amongst themselves, German to the commanding officers, and a drunken old Polish colonel butchers both languages while giving them a pep talk.
There are also miscommunications with Hungarians and Tatars.
Central Europe is heavily multicultural and multilingual, even in 1914, but there are still strong national identities; because of, not despite.
Some parts of it used to be more multicultural and multilingual than they are now.
Bratislava was 36% German, 33% Slovak and 29% Hungarian in the 1919 census. Now it's ~90% Slovak.
Not some, pretty much all of Czechia and Slovakia were much more multicultural back then than now. Germans weren't just in Sudetenland, but was a significant minority in many small towns. Same with Hungarians (just in Slovakia). Now there are almost no Germans or Jews in either of them.
It is an interesting thing to think about. It appears to me (an outsider) that the Czech identity is very strong. Why is that? Especially in the face of the occupation by the Germans and Russians since what 1938 or something? And the Velvet Revolution seems (again as an outsider) just an amazing thing. What role does having a separate language play? And the multiculturalism. In the US we have such a great homogeneity. If I drive into Rhode Island I don't find another language or another culture. It is not like driving from France into the Nederlands for example.
Hašek ran for office as a member of his own newly founded Party of Moderate and Peaceful Progress Within the Limits of the Law
From wikipedia > The platform of the candidate for the Vinorhady election district, Jaroslav Hašek, consisted of seven points:[16]
The reintroduction of slavery.
The nationalization of janitors ("similar to how it is in Russia [...], where every janitor is simultaneously a police informer").
The rehabilitation of animals.
The institutionalization of feeble-minded MPs.
The reintroduction of the Inquisition.
Judicial immunity for priests and the Church ("In cases where a schoolgirl is deflowered by a priest").
The mandatory introduction of alcoholism.Yes, humor.
Well his Soviet escapades seem to suggest that not all of them were wholly humorous.
I believe these refer to the pre-Soviet state of affairs when the yard keeper (дворник) of an apartment block was basically subordinate to the city police - at least in the capital of St. Petersburg.
That was probably the case also during the Soviet era. It may well be the case even today.
I believe that during the Soviet era, almost every position will be "on the guard" not just the yard keeper (as depicted in "The Diamond Arm" of 1968). After the Soviet era, yard-keeping services are way understaffed to be useful for that, and also mostly rely on immigrant labor lately. Still, you can never be sure.
I wasn't aware that Russia has immigrant labor, though I shouldn't have been surprised given their relative economic strength.
Some music video commentary on russian immigrant labour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fix7P6aGXQ (Uzbek artist)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7pSztJFomE (Circassian artist)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ugivNRYfjc (Russian artist — for the taxi driving character introduced at 3:30)
these are all from about a decade back; there's no doubt been much more since...
Notes from the Underground Internets.
It is rather dark —an almost impenetrable night— in this crocodile, but at least it has USB-C charging and the 5G reception is excellent, so —thus far anyway— it hasn't affected my HN habit.
(I must admit I ♥ the MC Doni lyric: "إن شاء الله или c'est la vie". Anyone know of a lyrical line that beats it, either with four languages, or scripts written in three different directions [r-to-l, l-to-r, u-to-d?], etc?)
Russia has enough immigrant labor to fuel the existence of things like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_Against_Illegal_Immig....
Tajikistan's embassy and consulates are situated in 5 out of 6 Western districts of Russia, guess why.
Reading this article and expecting him to be a prototypical anti-war writer only to see that he was at one point a COMMISSAR IN THE RED ARMY caused quite a bit of whiplash
Central Europe was the place of a lot of complex belligerence at the time. Given his penchant for humor, I'm not surprised that he was a commissar. 'The Bolshevik Party established political commissars in 1918 to control and improve morale in the military forces." For all I know it could've been for self-preservation.
I'm not trying to be an apologist for him. Rather, I'd like to encourage people to learn a bit more about him and his environment before jumping to conclusions based on a single point in his life.
"In 1911, he founded The Party of Moderate Progress Within the Bounds of the Law. He founded it with his friends in the Vinohrady pub called U zlatého litru (The Golden Liter) to parody the political life of that time."
He didn't become a Communist until about 1918.
The most you can say is that he had a complex life.
Can you be more specific? Which ones do you believe were serious?
One of the very few books that literally had me rolling on the floor laughing -- not exaggerating for effect here, I have in fact fell from the sofa on the floor and started laughing until I wheezed and couldn't breathe. Especially the segment with the military preacher whom Švejk was an assistant of -- and when he had to get him home after he got dead-drunk. My gods, I can almost remember how much my tummy hurt back then!
That being said, all the stuff about censorship and getting arrested for "treason" (basically for a political joke at the bar) hit too close to home for me, and I am from a former Soviet block country, and I found those pieces very depressing. Still, I went through all books -- several times -- and enjoyed them a lot. The author really captured a lot of absurdities very well.
all the stuff about censorship and getting arrested for "treason" (basically for a political joke at the bar) hit too close to home for me, and I am from a former Soviet block country, and I found those pieces very depressing.
You may probably find it curious that Hashek ended up being a bolshevik and a red army commissar.
I would never endorse this but I also kind of understand: it's very easy to switch sides when you're seeing your own government face-plant all the time and never get anything meaningful done. That's one of the ways the ruling class wins: a new "promising" system gets promoted, it points at the mistakes of the current system and the people, tired of all the crap, end up voting for the new stuff, only to discover it's even worse... :(
That has happened quite a lot in history, sadly (also I am aware that in the case of the USSR there was no voting involved, it was just a figure of speech).
In case of USSR the people were choosing sides of the civil war and fighting voluntarily - a more serious commitment than simply casting a ballot.
In vast many cases they were either forcefully conscripted by whomever was holding power in the particular area, or were simply choosing to enter armies because they were very young people who lost everything and did not have many options. Do not also discount that during the post-revolution civil war, food shortages were the norm, and the place to eat is army.
I mean that the side winning a civil war probably needs to have a sufficient degree of public support. If enough people went as far as fighting voluntarily, then there was also a significant number who supported this side more passively.
I am not a historian, but I think the society turned this way, in a sense. It's not like some external force coerced them, when everyone was against it.
Hashek is an example. He was not forcefully conscripted, it was his choice.
I've just recently listened to Kerensky's interview (the chairman of the Provisional Government that was ousted by the October Revolution in 1917). He was unable to gather any forces, no-one defended him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA225DBywU4&t=4842s (the interview is in Russian)
If it was anything like the Spanish Civil War, lots of people just happened to live in an area that was controlled by one or another side. Those who were committed to their cause probably did their best to escape or take arms. Most were simply recruited and complied to avoid further trouble. Both my grandfathers happened to live on the side they disagreed with when hostilities started, so they had no choice.
Most of the people were not involved in fight. They were busy growing food for example. But sure the ones that actually fought did choose their sides voluntarily. Sometimes they flipped.
He did a stint with the Bolsheviks, but abandoned them eventually - and this was before writing "Švejk", so that might have well factored into the latter.
It's unfortunate but it's often the case when someone talks about a given ideal such as being critical of censorship, authoritarianism, etc. They often mean:
"I don't like THAT censorship. Mine is fine."
That being said, all the stuff about censorship and getting arrested for "treason" (basically for a political joke at the bar)
I think you didn't get it right. The joke is that they go out of their way to not say anything offensive, knowing that the situation is tense, but they get arrested anyway.
Strange that you're saying this because that's exactly how I understood it: people were extremely mindful of what they're saying but even with that you had "agents" in disguise who really stretched the definition of "treason", many times over, just to be able to do a few arrests daily. In the books it was also shown that the mere fact of singing along a song that praised their emperor was also grounds for being arrested (which was quite absurd because praising that guy was a requirement anyway).
The book starts with the event that lead to the war getting announced. It's the pre war paranoia, not state censorship.
"...had me rolling on the floor laughing..."
Same here, I was in tears I was laughing that much. I found it funny because I recognized those silly maddening situations from my own life. We all experience them but it takes a master like Hašek to remind us about how absurd they really are.
"When the war is over, let’s see each other", said Švejk. "You will find me every day after six o’clock in the 'U Kalicha'"
"Then, see you after the war, at six o’clock in the evening." Vodička said.
"Better come at six-thirty to be safe if I’m late," Švejk replied.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:U_Kalicha_(Pra...
You’ve linked to a Wikimedia category of pictures. I assume this is not intended.
It takes me, on mobile, to a picture of what looks to be the real-world "U Kalicha" establishment.
From Mobile Wikipedia, always use the browser's share button to get the canonical URL.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:U_Kalicha_(Pragu...
What happened to ... using the address bar?
It gives a non-canonical link.
You will find me every day after six o’clock in the 'U Kalicha'
Context: "U Kalicha" refers to a bar in Prague (translation: At the Chalice).
The wikimedia link takes one to a photo of the bar today.
I wouldn't call it bar. It's more like a pub or an inn.
Whatever you'd call a place where you sit down for a beer (...or ten) and have conversations with friends.
Wenn die Leute auseinandergehen, da sagen sie “Auf Wiedersehen”
A classic. The movie versions are available on YouTube with English subtitles but it's not the same. A part of the charm of Švejk played by Rudolf Hrušínský is the way he talks and that gets lost if you don't speak Czech.
The czech audiobook read by Jan Werich https://youtu.be/JaNO4ZG3zn8?si=oc2YRdNurUNcX9LQ is also great!
Except it only shows up in Czek!
A very good reason the learn the language!
A love Werich-narated things.
Removed for copyright reasons, it says. Theres also a 1950s puppet film version directed by Jiri Trnka
Hah, some ahole must have reported it. It was working fine a few hours ago. Can you even claim copyright of a 70 years old movie? Oh well.
Yes of course. Ask Disney.
There's also automated DMCA carpet bombing. Tossup which is which in this case.
Interesting. I didn't know Svejk was popular at all outside Czechia. I must say, it's somewhat a bittersweet realization. The way I and many other Czechs see it, Hasek did us quite a disservice. Still, if you guys enjoy it, hats down.
It is very popular in Austrian, in particular the TV series from the 70s with Fritz Muliar as the main actor 1972: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Abenteuer_des_braven_Solda.... The theatre plays are also quite popular. I even read the novel as a kid because my father had it in his library :)
Why do you think Hasek did you a disservice?
In a nutshell, we did it to ourselves by excessively promoting the novel over the course of many decades.
Starting with the avant-garde movements of the 20's, through the communism era (Hasek was a socialist and a communist) to this day, we've been essentially saying Svejk characterizes the true nature of what it means to be a Czech. You literally hear school teachers tell their students a drunk devious simpleton is considered a role model.
The topic is quite complex, there's more history and politics involved, but I'm not going there.
Disclaimer: By no means am I criticizing the book or people who like it.
I am a Czech as well, and although I know exactly what you are talking about, I have found my own way towards Švejk lately. I am afraid (all of them awesome artists, but too much pushing the novel in the humour direction) Lada, Hrušínský, and Trnka are guilty a lot for the feeling which is prevalent now. Contrary to that, I was fascinated a lot by listening to M.C.Putna’s discussion of Švejk in https://www.mujrozhlas.cz/putnuv-jihocesky-literarni-mistopi... and by listening to the novel in audio, where he understands basically Švejk as “Kafka by other means”, and there is a lot to it.
Švejk is pretty popular in Russia (in some circles, anyway), but FWIW I wouldn't say that the way it is interpreted is as "the true nature of what it means to be a Czech". I think that part is perhaps more for internal consumption?
I was introduced to him via a BBC radio adaptation in the 1970s (80s?). Around the same time as "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe".
From all the books I've read, the good soldier Švejk stands out as one of the most memorable characters. I love the style of the writing, how it shows the absurdity of bureaucracy, war, and society through the person of Švejk, perpetually drinking and getting into trouble, innocent like a dove and wise as a serpent, he always finds his way out of any predicament, while having his fun. He represents an aspect of the indomitable spirit of humanity and humor.
The illustrations by Josef Lada are wonderful too, they are essential to the reading experience and imaginary world of the book.
Did you read it in Czech? Apparently, finding a good translation is a bit of a minefield.
I read it in English, but some knowledge of Czech culture and geography (towns and Prague neighborhoods) added to the enjoyment of the book.
The one I read was translated by Cecil Parrott (in 1973), but I learned there's a new translation (1997~) by a native Czech speaker: The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War, translated by Zdeněk "Zenny" Sadloň, in three volumes.
One of the comments at the end of the article touches on the new translation.
Oh that's a good one! Thanks for pointing that out, I want to read the newer translation now.
Cecil Parrott deliberately anglicized the novel.. What is stunning is the poverty and one-dimensional lexical register of the translator’s mother tongue.
Sir Cecil ultimately failed in rendering the “lazy argot”.. For example, he used the word “bastard” to render into English such varied words as “chlap” (sonofagun, guy, man), “kluk” (boy), “podlci” (moral degenerates), “lotry” (crooks), “sběř” (pack of rabble) and “pahejl” (stumpfoot).
..which translation you read will give you a different experience with the titular character, and the story in general. In short, the Sadlon translation gives the reader a novel with extraordinarily more depth and layers than the Parrot translation. ..Parrot’s vernacular obscures the subtleties and nuances that make a huge difference in what Hašek was communicating to the reader.
I was raised in Eastern Bloc in 70 and 80s. Svejk was the classic we all read as teenagers. We have seen that as parody of communism and always wondered how is that book not censored or forbidden?
Now I realize it describes any sufficient evolved (i.e. broken) system, which might have been good enough excuse for the soviets not to make it verbotten.
I think it wasn't censored because it was so critical of imperialism, so soviet censors viewed it as 'progressive' and aiding their cause.
I think it never occurred to censors that the satire of the book would transcend the Austro-Hungarian Empire and would work as a satire of a soviet bureaucracy just as well. This, it was widely available both in USSR and in other Eastern Block countries, and even had luxury editions, I still have one such edition.
Austro-Hungarian bureaucracy is still alive here in Slovakia. It is bigger than EU bureaucracy. The Empire is eternal.
Like the joke about Stalin's underling muttering under his breath about "that bastard with the moustache", I wouldn't be surprised if either (a) the original censors had said "anti Austria-Hungary good" without giving a moment's thought as to how well the satire fit their own system, or (b) a particularly bright censor (or set of censors) realised they could always fall back on (a) for plausible deniability. Compare https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39697389 (or https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ru/b/ba/Sharik_Figvam... ?)
Glad to see this book promoted here!
However, having compared the French translation to the original in Czech, I have to warn French-language readers that the translation was atrocious. As in, completely making up words and sentences that were not in the original. (Unfortunately, I know nothing about translations into English, and cannot recommend a good one.)
Interestingly, Milan Kundera wrote a book (in French) that I highly recommend [0]. He draws examples from many different artistic works to weave a fascinating story discussing to what extent we can or should stay faithful to the original intention of an artist or creator.
[0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44382.Testaments_Betraye...
This prompted me to check, and the first translation in French was in fact the translation of a translation of a translation [1]. No wonder it strayed from the original!
The English translation went through similar ordeals [2]. The more recent ones are presumably more faithful:
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.
[1] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Aventures_du_brave_soldat_...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Soldier_%C5%A0vejk#Tr...
The second comment on the article - worth reading in itself - is signed by Švejk himself, with a detailed criticism of the Parrott translation, recommending instead a 2000 translation by Sadlon. Anyone else have insight on which translation I should read?
Sadlon sells books in parts, i read the first book of his translation. Thought it was good, but given the needing to buy multiple books and the ugly cover art, I’m happy with Penguin. If it is true Penguin is an inferior translation or too flowery, it still reads as a very entertaining book.
I am not sure that "good soldier" is a correct translation.
Czech "dobrého vojáka" is more "of brave (in `dashing` conotation) soldier".
So Hašek's humor starts right from the title.
"good" is an exact translation of "dobry"
Maybe Hasek intended a double meaning of "dobry vojak" as a) good-natured soldier and b) high-quality soldier (which would be sarcasm), but TBH the option b) just never occurred to me (I'm a native Czech speaker).
"Good" ended up the default meaning in many Slavic languages, but its original meaning was much broader (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/d...), and AFAIK those other meanings are still understood if considered archaic - is that not the case in Czech?
but its original meaning was much broader (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/d...)
Is it really that broad? There are many examples, but none really deviates from "good". In pretty much everyone of them, I could just use "good" and it would work OK.
The only reference to "dobry" meaning "brave" is this:
Cognate with Latvian dabravecis (“brave, prudent man”).
But Czech was likely not heavily influenced by Latvian.
Honestly, I think people should just stop assuming that if word X means Y in a Slavic language A, that it should have the same meaning in a Slavic language B. I see these kind of broken assumptions very often, but there are way too many false friends for this to work.
I think an entrepreneur should establish a tour in the Czech lands, to walk in the footsteps of švejk as of when he drank away the money for his train ticket sending his company to the front, thereby forcing him to zig zag across the land in the hope of rejoining them. It will be the Czech Camino de Santiago, and one must carry a pipe and a bottle of slivovic as they go.
I think an entrepreneur should establish a tour in the Czech lands, to walk in the footsteps of švejk as of when he drank away the money for his train ticket sending his company to the front, thereby forcing him to zig zag across the land in the hope of rejoining them. It will be the Czech Camino de Santiago, and one must carry a pipe and a bottle of slivovic as they go.
Pretty sure I've seen ads for exactly that kind of tour.
Might be a false memory. But in any case, it's my goal to do that sort of pilgrimage when I get to properly spend time in Czechia.
Thank you! Saving this for my next time in Czechia <3
For those that loved the book. Hasek also wrote an autobiography, which is even funnier than the life of Svejk. It's definitely made up quite a bit, but the stories in it are great. I cannot find english title ( it might have been not printed ), but transleting from polish it's called "3.5 beer".
Spoilers!!! Stories include:
- One time he wrote to paper called animals and unfortunately run out of animals to write, so he just started inventing them. It ended up in year long trip to Australia paid by some wealthy women who really wanted to get her own "Tasmanian Vampire"
- Russian general invades city. Hasek knows the best way to stay alive is to have a drink with him. They get very drunk and general ask Hasek what's his biggest problem. Hasek says that the fact that people cannot read. Next day he wakes up to bunch of posters around the city saying that whoever will not be able to read by noon tomorrow will be executed.
There are a number of beer themed books, but none of them even close to 3.5 beer. Perhaps you can post the Polish title.
Remember that some autobiographical themes are used in the Shvejk book itself.
In particular, the volunteer Marek had been an editor for an Animal World journal, where he published articles about made up animals. And even entered a public debate with some ornithologist who questioned his articles. That's in the chapter Skvejk's Adventures in Kyralyhida.
If I remember correctly, Hashek was also selling dogs in real life (Shvejk's profession in the book).
Is the sense of humour comparable to the Flashman series?
It’s like catch 22 but more crude, and more brutal.
Lots of drinking, stealing, fist fighting, long winded anecdotes (with plenty of embellishments) telling lies to get into / out of trouble, and ethnic humour reflecting the attitudes which were typical of the imperial period: Germans/Austrians look down on Czechs, Czechs resent the Germans and are unfriendly with Hungarians, the imperial soldiers harass Jews (who get them back in various ways) and there is a scene where the Czechs in military jail are practicing their Russian: for an assumed surrender at the front.
I guess what you described, though unpleasant sounding, fitted the Czech Republic’s history. Perhaps that’s why hilbert42 liked it.
Amusing anecdote - last year I tried to buy a copy of Švejk in Prague and I had the following exchange in a bookshop (in Czech).
Me: "Hello, do you have a copy of Švejk?"
Assistant: "No."
M: "Uh, OK, do you know of anyone that might?"
A: "No, no one has any Švejk right now!"
M: "I see. Is there any reason for that?"
A: "Everyone has already read it." walks off in a huff
It seemed somehow fitting. 'You can't read Švejk because everyone has already read it, and we're insulted you'd even ask for it in our bookshop.' There's a reason the Czech lands have given the rest of the world both Hašek and Kafka!
They probably read copies from their libraries.
Wow, what? How is my favorite novel the top result on HN right now.
My underground Nazi-resistance fighter, Auschwitz survivor and later staunch-idealist socialist-communist grandfather loved this book and identified with it deeply.
Edit: I might add that this book and author had a similar sort of status on this side of the iron curtain as Joseph Heller and his military Catch-22 humor.
I loved this book growing up - I’ve read it many times and remember it being really funny. I only read it Russian and have never seen the words “Švejk” or “Hašek” in non-Cyrillic. Also! In Russian, “the good” is translated as “the brave”.
I love this book and, having read it, it gave me a new was of looking at "Gomer Pyle, USMC". Probably not the intention of the series creator, but imagining Pyle as much smarter than he lets on and quite mischievous is a lot of fun.
This is my comfort book. I've read it 6 or 7 times, first time when I was around 12 years old. It's a book which still has the ability to pull me out of whatever pit I am at certain times.
A favorite of both my dad and I. I've only read it twice -- once as a teenager and once as a college junior -- and loved it both times, while he rereads it every so often. As my dad would say, it's the type of book that you can read many times and discover something new every time.
Related, popular Czech pub in Stockholm :D https://maps.app.goo.gl/GbNAjLTPCpNwkSwf9
I was introduced to the character by way of Bertolt Brecht's Schweyk im zweiten Weltkrieg (Švejk in the Second World War)[0], which was meant as a sequel to Hašek's original and which I read in school- unfortunately too long ago to remember much of anything but Švejk's good-natured bumbling.
We also read Biedermann und die Brandstifter (The Fire Raisers/The Arsonists)[1], also by Brecht, which I remember somewhat more vividly. The main character is an ordinary guy who thinks he could never be fooled by arsonists, but allows a pair of them to fill his home with flammable material and ends up aiding them in his own demise. I worry that we have failed to learn the lessons of this kind of Nachkriegsliteratur (Post-WWII literature).
0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweik_in_the_Second_World_Wa...
There are a pair of Czech films based on the novels which are delightful to watch. I don’t know if they’re streaming anywhere, I watched them in the days of DVDs in the mail from Netflix.
There’s an American version of this called “No Time For Sergeants” [0]. One of my favorites bits is when he takes color-blindness to the extreme.
I learned of The Good Soldier Švejk from Alexei Sayle's autobiography "Stalin ate my homework" - which I can strongly recommend, particularly the audiobook narrated by the author.
In English, there is at least one Bowdlerized translation, which ruins it. I found the Penguin Books edition to be quite good.
It was my grandfather's favorite novel. He fought on the other side.
I tried to read the book as a kid when I was maybe 6h or 7th grade, along with Jules Verne and what else. Didn't finish it, heck, I abandoned it quickly.
Maybe it's one of those things that you need to be an adult to appreciate. Unfortunately there's no lack of content nowadays, so I'm not sure I'll give the book another try.
Loved watching Švejk films as a kid.
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Švejk is what I call a "scalable" book. It works for readers of almost any level. The first time I read it I was maybe 8 years old and had a lot of fun, even though I completely missed most of the nuance.
More examples of "scalable" books please?
The Earthsea trilogy by Ursula Le Guin is another one (there are also books beyond the first three now, but they're more targeted at older readers).
Now every petal of the rose has a name. . .
Every? Not sure I get the reference...
IIRC, the name for rabbit was kebbo or something like that, so if you called out the true name for rabbit, any and all rabbits would be affected. This would then hold for petals as well?
Just one of the “scenes” I remember from the book - naming every single petal from some flower.
Also, the secret to exiting the school (getting past the guardian) was pretty cool.
Definitely! I revisit these every decade or so, and each time I think "wow, I really didn't get this the last time I read it."
My neighbor gave me a great tip: check out anything by Terry Pratchett that I can find in the youth fiction section of the library. My wife and I are reading them to children ages 9 - 16, and all of them are liking the books.
Another vote for Terry Pratchett. He is a master of blending the fantasy and contemporary worlds together. Stuff like in-sewer-ants vs insurance.
A big yes for Terry Pratchett!
It can easily be read as funny little books following the sagas of recuring (anti)heroes. But the light-hearted stories belie a sharp-eyed critique of society, with the most well known example probably being Vimes' Boot theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
Often, the subtility is hidden in a word or a choice of words that can easily go unnoticed, but are all small hints of the vast pluridisciplinary depth of knowledge of the author. The esoteric, historical, literary and physical sciences references (to name just them), are delightful small winks to the reader sprinkled throughout the books.
I remember enjoying these as a child without understanding any of the subtext or satire:
Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels
Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose
Bohumil Hrabal: Cutting it Short
Antal Szerb: The Pendragon Legend
I would dispute at least "The Name of the Rose", I'd say it's just a multi layered story.
A good portion of the book are philosophical discussions, which would be IMHO very boring and not understandable for small children.
The magic of novels like Svejk or Little Prince is that those extra layers are mostly implied, emergent, they're not written out explicitly and thus don't bore out the young readers.
This one is a little difficult: the book is laden with multilingual dialogue and notes apparatus; it's not for everybody. That said, I first read The Name of the Rose when I was 11 or 12, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Karel Čapek: R.U.R.
His short stories are beyond fascinating and adorable, BTW. One, for example, equates accounting to hunting and detective work.
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester.
Works of James Herriot.
Čapek's "War With The Newts" is good too.
The Wind in the Willows. As a child, I read it purely as an adventure story. Re-reading it as an adult, I realized it's actually two stories: one a eulogy to the British countryside, and the other a comedy about the self-inflicted troubles of Mr. Toad. The humor was lost on me as a child.
As a kid, I was terrified by Mr Toad and stopped reading the book because of him.
“The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Whatever age I read it, I am always surprised how much it deals with the actual problems I have.
I don't know anyone who liked The Little Prince when they were kids, regardless of their appreciation of the book as adults.
I disliked it as a kid for the same reasons I've loved it (and Exupéry's other aviator stories) as adult: it's abstract and impressionist.
My older brother gave me Animal Farm to read as a child, I enjoyed it as a (somewhat depressing) story about animals taking over a farm.
I was probably 7 or 8 my first time through Animal Farm. I cried so hard when Boxer died.
The Moomin books by Tove Jansson
Yes! "Moominpappa at Sea" is wonderful. There's melancholy, sea horses, mischief, the creeping gothic horror of the Groke, whisky and pipe smoking, existential crises, dilapidated lighthouses and confused fishermen. Something for kids of all ages.
Dostoevsky's "The Idiot"
Nu, if only Tolstoy and Dostoevsky had collaborated: they could have written "War and Idiots"...
The Little Prince
The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov.
For a child, it's a slapstick comedy about Satan's retinue's visit to Soviet Moscow.
For a teen, it's a savage political satire taking down Stalinism.
For an adult, it's philosophy...
Every Gary Larson collection you can find.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Catch-22. I was maybe 11 on my first reading, and read it once a year until I was 19 or so. The book grew darker and darker on each reading, without changing a word. (I've read it a bunch of times since, just not every year. )
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. My mother read it to me before I could read. I thought it was a great adventure book!
Melville's Moby Dick. It can be about adventure, about whaling, about the fellowship of man, about mortality...
Intruder in the Dust, the best of William Faulkner's "young adult" novels. The short story collection Knight's Gambit is also well worth a look.
In addition to what the other replies recommended, I read Tom Sharpe at a young age and enjoyed all of them with sometimes uncontrollable giggles.
Start with Wilt, I think. Then maybe The Throwback.
The lord of the rings is a good one, especially if you skip the songs. Then it’s simply an adventure story.
The Sword in the Stone is pretty good in this regard. Apart from that first book (which is published as a standalone book) the entire Once and Future King is too complex for a child, I think (instead it would come off as boring and obscure).
But in general almost any book a kid wants to try to read will be fine.
Also: back in the day when small towns had a single cinema screen, movies would travel around as physical media and play for a week or two. So they had to be appropriate for anyone in town else the cinema owner wouldn’t take them.
My kid loved those Fred Astaire musicals. I do too. For him they were just fun. To me, many of them were quite racy and quite explicit! But all that just went over his head.
the little Prince, i'd say
"The Little Prince"
Anything from Calvin & Hobbes!
A Wrinkle in Time…
Young Adult fiction is my "go-to" place for this. Nearly anything that has won the Newberry Award is great for the whole family. Some standouts in my mind:
* Island of the Blue Dolphins
* Chronicles of Prydain (Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, etc)
Chronicles of Narnia aren't Newberry winners, but are good regardless (if you don't mind the religious subtext).
+1 for other people mentioning The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Our whole family has enjoyed classics like Pride and Prejudice and Dracula -- such books are called "classics" for a reason.
Modern YA fiction has some very good books as well -- we all enjoyed Hole by Louis Sachar.
Some good modern sci-fi too -- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir was well received, as was Ender's Game.
Brandon Sanderson's stuff is very good. Whole family enjoyed The Way of Kings and the books that follow.
(For context, "whole family" is mix of genders, ages 10-15)
Very true, I wouldn't have recognized many of the nuances had I not had military training and having worked in government bureaucracies.
Oh yeah? I’ll add it to my list. I’ve served and I was thinking of passing on it.
Luckily I was well versed before I showed up to Uncle Sam’s doorstep. Catch-22 paints paints a good picture. And had a high counselor who was a Vietnam vet and said Apocalypse Now was the most realistic Vietnam movie he’d. And I can’t say that my experiences in were too far from my expectations.
I think the thing people don’t get about the military, at least speaking of my experience in the US’s, is even in places like special operations units and doing the stuff that reads great in a newspaper, often enough there’s an absolute, epic, comedic shitshow going on inside with a cast of characters that you couldn’t even do justice to in a goofball comedy. Suppose that might apply to lots of things. Luckily, no military really has to have their shit together, they just gotta be better than the other side.
One of Napoleon's cavalry generals said his average trooper's horsemanship was mediocre at best, yet they still made the tour of Europe. (Later, in the time of Napoleon III, the Prussians would outdo the French in utilizing mediocrity, providing yet another example that for a conscripted military, quantity is its own quality)
How does it compare to Catch-22?
Joseph Heller claimed he would have never written it had he never read The Good Soldier Švejk.
Hmm. A quick Google didn't find that.
From https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/17/theater/newsandfeatures/t...
"Heller, who died in 1999, told various interviewers that Céline and Kafka were his most powerful influences and that "Svejk" was "just a funny book.""
there are some references in catch-22 and its follow up Closing time.
I was really surprised by Closing Time. I forget all the details of it, but I remember finding it just relentlessly depressing. The only degree to which I thought it worked was, it really emphasized the extent to which we really don’t need to know what happens to characters after the story is done, it is better if we just imagine they go on to have their lives.
Same. It was so heavy compared to catch-22. But I am not sure the aging perspective could have been written any different.
Found a quote, had to use the anglicized spelling though.
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2011/08/heller-201108
"The Czech writer Arnošt Lustig claimed that Heller had told him at a New York party for Milos Forman in the late 1960s that he couldn’t have written Catch-22 without first reading Jaroslav Hašek’s unfinished World War I satire, The Good Soldier Schweik. "
Germanized, really.
Catch-22 is funny during the read but after the end, and in reflection, is pretty dark.
Svejk is generally funnier, IMO
Švejk is too much slanted by the expectations of “just funny” and by (absolutely awesome, but too nice) illustrations by Josef Lada. When listening to the audio version of the book, I was shocked how actually horrific story it is. I have mentioned elsewhere in this thread a Czech literary historian (M. C. Putna) who called “The Good Solider Švejk” as “Kafka’s ‘Trial’ by other means”. I think he is quite correct.
As a child, I understood Svejk as pure comedy and didn't get any of the darkness.
It makes sense unlike Catch-22 that does not make sense.
it only makes sense once you've already read it once.
I think if you like one, you like the other. I think the Svejk book have a more innocent tone and is less cynical. But I was way to young when I read them to have a "deep" understanding of the contexts.
I'd say it's more cynical.
There's a place for hope in Catch-22.
In Svejk, the gruesome absurdity of the war prevails in all situations.
I found Catch-22 much more hilarious than Švejk.
I thought Svejk was more available to a younger reader. However, like someone already mentioned, it has enough layers for a reader of almost any age to enjoy. I'd read them both.
I thought Švejk to be much funnier.
Rather I thought Catch-22 to be a so-so imitation of Švejk.
Then again I've been re-reading Švejk since childhood.
Similarly, how you can tell when Hasek dies before finishing Švejk and his friend takes over with the ending, the jokes just fall off a bit.
It's the Catch-22 of WW1.
A bit more gruesome and obscene, both less serious and much darker than Catch-22, and highlighting a wider scope of social (and military) issues.
His short stories are also hilarious and in the same vein as Svejk's adventures.
I've enjoyed Švejk's adventures, but never read any Hašek's short stories. Can you recommend a particular one you like?
There was a recent collection of new translations of his stories, many of which had never previously appeared in English. They’re not ideal in that the translations are translations of a German edition of his stories and not the original Czech texts, but they’re still a fun read.
https://paradiseeditions.net/products/the-man-without-a-tran...
Yes, they are only hilarious. Švejk on the other hand is in my opinion much more serious. One Czech literary critic call it even “Kafka by other means”. Yes, Hašek was a satiric writer, so that’s how he wrote, but Švejk is IMHO actually a serious book about the horror of a human being liquidated by the impersonal power of modern society.
what's the other books that are on your 100 books list to read before one departs this planet ?
Not the original commenter but I'd include:
Vanity Fair by Thackeray
Mr Johnson by Joyce Cary
Lavengro and Romany Rye by George Borrow
The Descent of Woman by Elaine Morgan
Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies by Douglas Hofstadter et al.
Identity Crisis by Ben Elton
I would add One Hundred Years of Solitude to the list. Probably the book that impacted me the most of all the books I've read. I just can't recommend it enough
The audio version read by David Horovitch is incredible.
Ordered!