The Good Soldier Svejk cover art

The Good Soldier Svejk

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The Good Soldier Svejk

By: Jaroslav Hasek
Narrated by: David Horovitch
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About this listen

Jaroslav Hasek's world-famous satirical farce The Good Soldier Svejk has been translated into over 60 languages, and is one of the best-known Czech works ever published.

A soldier in the First World War who never actually sees any combat, Josef Å vejk is the awkward protagonist - and none of the other characters can quite decide whether his bumbling efforts to get to the front are genuine or not. Often portrayed as one of the first anti-war novels, Hasek's classic satire is a tour-de-force of modernist writing, influencing later writers such as Hemingway, Faulkner and Joseph Heller.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2008 Naxos Audiobooks (P)2008 Naxos Audiobooks Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire War & Military Comedy War Witty Military Solider

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All stars
Most relevant  

What made the experience of listening to The Good Soldier Svejk the most enjoyable?

The narration is first class in this adaptation of the classic. Editing it down to its current size was a good idea and I don't think anyone will miss any of the filler.

What about David Horovitch’s performance did you like?

Excellent performance and very suited to the book.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's funny but you won't need to change your underwear.

Funny but slightly dated comic war novel

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excellent adaptation of one of my favourite books. narrator was 5 stars too, I'd be more than happy to purchase another book he reads. well paced, names excellently pronounced, I'm bound to keep returning to this brilliant reading

superb

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I have been travelling to Prague regularly for the last couple of years and I have realized how much the Czechs have in common with the British in so many ways - particularly our sense of humour. However, even in English I don't know of another book as subtly critical of the stupidity of war and yet so amusing at the same time. I came to look for this book because my favourite restaurant in Prague is called U Brázdů and is part of the small chain of Švejk Restaurants, where authentic local dishes can be savoured. This book is an insight into the Czech folklore that is well worth listening to.

A really enjoyable listen.

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You can't help but admire Svejk - an apparent idiot whose folk logic helps him out of scrape after scrape during a year as a Czech soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army.
Brilliantly narrated - all the absurd characters Svejk meets come alive with an amazing range of voices and accents.
Highly highly highly recommended

Brilliantly narrated satire of WW1

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Do take time to listen to even this abridged version of one of the 20th century's most humerous and iconoclastic novels detailing the adventures of a hapless, bumbling characters ( or is he? judge for yourself ! ) in the First World War. I can't remember a more scathing satire of the lunacy of war,especially combined with the incompetent buffoonery of those supposed to be in charge ! David Horovitch does a superb job with a great variety of accents depicting the book's characters.

So why only 4 stars then? Come on Audible, let's have the whole book !

A great listen

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The Austro-Hungarian Empire had many nationalities so representing them by using different accents is a good idea. What is not a good idea is using British and Irish accents to do that. After listening to several different English and Scottish accents I said to myself, I bet he'll use an Irish accent next. Sure enough I was proven right. There's no system to how the accents were distributed either. This added an unnecessarily and distracting comic element to a story that is already an attempt at comedy.
As for the story. It's doesn't have a plot in the ordinary sense it's just a series of vignettes which are indistinguishable from each other after a while. Hasek was a Communist so the targets of his satirical portraits are are you'd expect but after you've read the first four or five you've really read them all. Even though this is an abridged version it's still five hours too long, if you really want a taste of the story go for the BBC dramatised version which is just about right lengthwise.

Disappointing, distracting and too long.

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