Description:
Gathering work from across Jaroslav Hasek's brief but prolific career, this collection showcases the outrageous wit and biting social commentary that made him the most popular Czech writer of all time. Much like his beloved novel The Good Soldier Svejk, these sixteen tales-previously unavailable in English-are populated with unforgettable characters: various cranks, conmen, and secret geniuses. The Man Without a Transit Pass further solidifies Hasek's place as one of the 20th century's greatest satirists.
Brief description: Jaroslav Hasek (1883-1923) was a Czech humorist, satirist, and journalist. He was beloved-and infamous-for his bohemian lifestyle, practical jokes, and radical politics. During his short life, he wrote copiously and traveled on foot throughout Central and Eastern Europe, frequently landing in trouble with the authorities. He is best known for The Good Soldier Svejk, an unfinished comic novel set during the First World War.
Review Quotes:
"Beautiful, absurd, and entertaining stories suitable for any setting: morning or evening, summer or winter." Adrian Bonenberger, The Wrath Bearing Tree
"Hasek is mocking authority and bourgeois respectability, of course, but the criticism is ultimately of the individual's inability to tolerate being the butt of a joke. If the universe is absurd, then we shouldn't be so foolish as to take it seriously." Robert Rubsam, The Cleveland Review of Books
"The English premiere of these short stories is long overdue. They will not push aside the veneration of Svejk, but the tales present a fuller picture of Hasek's ability to capture and preserve a place moving from empire to nation-state." Anthony Hennen, Apofenie