This satirical novel is often funny and I laughed a lot. But it is also long and I admit I was glad when I got to the last page. Joseph Svejk is a native of Prague and is in the Austrian Army, and purports to be a most loyal soldier. His responses to officers are often very funny and drive said officers up a wall. The humor is sometimes coarse and overly dependent on excretory functions. References to the Catholic Church are seldom admiratory. If conditions in the Austrian Army are accuately depicted it is easy to see why Austria did poorly in the War. ( )

Patience is required for this book. I found myself at times fully enjoying one of Svejk's ramblinf stories, other times I was tempted to skip through them. As the introduction to the book says, hasek's narrative skills leave a lot to be desired but it is still an immensely enjoyable piece of work. Svejk is the man we can all identify with, sympathise with and root for. ( )

A monster of a book, that's unfinished. The titular Svejk has been dismissed from the army, for his lack of intelligence. He demonstrates this early on by explaining to a secret policeman little more than the truth about the archduke's death. His punishment ? He's drafted to fight the Russians, The book stops before he gets to the front. The adventures of Svejk whilst on his way to the front detail the seeming pointlessness of war and the anguish of men who don't want to be there. I ended up with this having spent a good few times in bar Svejk in Prague, the owner explained about the character to us and I was instantly intrigued. If you like catch-22 this and the also lesser known "The life and Extrordinary adventures of private Ivan Chonkin" ought to be on you reading list ( )

Hysterically funny satire of the red tape of the military, the futility of war, etc. ( )

Funny and serious recommend for the middle europe view of World War 1. ( )