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by poloniculmov 827 days ago
His short stories are also hilarious and in the same vein as Svejk's adventures.
2 comments

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.
> about the horror of a human being liquidated by the impersonal power of modern society

it is now forbidden to call war by its name ? /s

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...