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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'.… (more)
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User reviews
What was just as interested as Svejk in The Red Commissar were the stories based on
In addition to the translation of stories by Hasek, there are some articles about the life of Hasek. Especially the time he founded a political party in Prague, The Party of Moderate Progress within the Bounds of the Law. The primary purpose of the party was to arrange party meetings in a particular café so that the revenue of the café would be boosted hence putting the owner in good form and facilitating Hasek’s friend to woo one of the owner’s five daughters. At these meetings Hasek would give speeches for up to two hours on any subject and subsequently a collection would be taken up to raise money for the party. After the collection the Central Committee of the party, i.e. Hasek and his friends who sat at the top table, would share the money between them and buy drink.
The party’s Sunday evening meetings appear to have been very entertaining and they tell me something about self-made entertainment in the era before television and the omnipresent Net.
Much of the satire is aimed at politicians, bureaucrats, religious personages, members of the police force, and military men. Some of the humour and satire is still very valid today.
I always have a soft spot for translators and this book and the novel of The Good Soldier Svejk, were translated by Sir Cecil Parrott. On investigating Sir Parrott I learnt he had been the British Ambassador in Prague from 1960 to 1966. The Red Commissar was copyrighted in 1981 and first published in 1983. Apparently Sir Parrott died in 1984 having been born in 1909.
I would recommend the gentle humour and sometimes cutting satire of both The Good Soldier Svejk and The Red Commissar to anyone who likes to look at life from the funny side of the street and who is not against a bit of cynical analysis of life, in particular politics.