Customer Reviews

The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk During the World War, Book One

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is the third translation of Svejk in English of which I'm aware. The first done in the 40's is highly bowdlerized and only of the first half. The second, by Sir Cecil Parrott in the early 1970's covered the whole work and was bolder. The present volume by Sadlon and Joyce seems to be the most accurate and literal translation (although admittedly I don't know a half dozen words of Czech) in view of the background and qualifications of those individuals. It does constitute only the first volume of four, although the later books are promised. I certainly found it worthwhile and fully intend to purchase the later volumes as they come out. One minor critique I have is that the prose reads somewhat more harshly and has an angrier and more proletarian diction to it. Knowing what I do of Jaroslav Hasek, I am sure that this is the result of painstaking efforts at accuracy by the translators. Unfortunately, this puts a rougher face on the text and, in my view, detracts from the uproarious humor that I found in the Parrott translation. I emphasize here that the Sadlon version is an absolute necessity and accept that the distinctions in the translations flow from greater care by him as opposed to the prior. On the other hand, Cecil Parrott's subtlety and innuendo often strike me as funnier than Jaroslav Hasek's brasher "in your face" writing style on its own. The comparison might be likened to one between Jerry Seinfeld and Sam Kinnison: each one is wonderful in his own right, but much different from the other.

Again this is intended more as an observation than a criticism, and I would urge any reader to buy both versions. Svejk is far too great a text to view through one lense only. In either version, it is laugh out loud funny in its descriptions of politics, bureaucracy, the military and the strong ethnic tensions among the Central Europeans of the first world war era. The best aspect of all is in Hasek's characters, and the book could be translated by Janet Reno and still be clever enough to keep you awake all night laughing.

I own this book and the Czech original. Before I got this particular
translation, I used to feel sorry that my American son would never be
able to get a glimpse into the mentality of a nation living at the
bottom of the food chain, powerless but never defeated. This book
captures perfectly the spirit of Svejk,his seemingly pointless
rambbling, apparent half-wit, and his truly folk origin.
I found only one(!) place were the translation did not convey a
possible double meaning of the original, which is
absolutely remarkable. If the reader does not "get" the book,
it is not because of the translation. In fact, amongst my fellow Czechs and
Slovaks, there are only two groups of people when it comes to Hasek's
Svejk: those who love it and those who despise it. So the fact that there are
the two extremal types of reviews of this particular translation constitutes the
ultimate testimony of the translator's success.

I was entertained in the same degree (and in the same spots) as by the Czech original. In addition, this new translation also preserves the rhythm of the sentences, their overall sense and spirit.

That is all which the old translation lacks in a catastrophic measure. The old translation is awkward to a, as we say in Czech, "break-neck" degree, unreadable, and for the common reader hard to understand. I think that the old translation should have never appeared in the book marketplace - alas, it happened.

As a native Czech I can tell you that the author of the previous translation (perhaps due to his intellectualism) did not get what Hašek's novel is about at all. His language is the language of high society evening parties - while Hašek's Švejk speaks with the tongue of public houses in the fourth [i.e., grade D, the cheapest] price category.

I am convinced that thanks to this new translation the resurrection and the rediscovery of this never-to-die book for and by millions and millions of readers in Anglophone countries is taking place indeed.

When I saw this new translation of Svejk in a bookstore I immediately bought it. I love the novel and I have always thought that the Cecil Parrott translation, although good, wasn't quite "it". The problem with Parrott's translation is that it is a little too formal compared to the Czech original (incidentally, I'm fluent in Czech, so I know what the prose should feel like). This new Sadlon translation promised to remedy this situation, so optimistically I plowed right in, hoping for the best. Unfortunately, although the language has been (appropriately) "roughed up" a bit, the prose has suffered. Hasek's prose flows. It feels "right"; it doesn't jar. Unfortunately, Sadlon's translation at times does. Parrott's prose is, I think, closer to the original in its feel, while Sadlon's vocabulary is closer to the original. Blending the two, I suppose, might be the answer.

Prior to some incidental contact with the translator, I had no idea there was another translation of Svejk available. The Parrott version ... is good, but far from perfect; I've recommended it ... because of its importance in understanding the social conditions at the fall of the Austrian Empire, rather than for any particular literary value. I read the first chapter of this translation, and I am favorably impressed. This is an important book, and so it's worth checking this translation out, both because of Hasek's work, and also to support the worthy efforts of independent translators and writers.

Hopefully we'll see Book Two soon!

As someone who has lived in the Czech Republic for a number of years and who speaks Czech at an intermediate level, I can safely say that this translation is far superior than the Cecil Parrot one. As a student of Hasek's work, I have read the Parrot translation three times, so when I picked up Zenny's translation and started to read, I was electrified. Here was the language that most Czechs were sure could never be translated. Instead of holding back as Parrot did, Zenny unleashes the full volley of Hasek's humor, not afraid to use the vulgar language that Hasek often employed. This book brings the reader much, much closer to the spirit and character of the wonderful Svejk. I praise Zenny for a job well done and can't wait to read the next installation of the book.

So for all those Czechs out there who thought that this book was not translatable, read this one. You will sure be surprised. And for those of you who don't know who is this Good Soldier Svejk, I suggest that you get your hands on this book and start reading. Hasek employs the type of humor that has you laughing and crying at the same time, because he uses humor, irony, satire and a healthy dose of truth to expose the absurdities of our modern world.

I found that this book was absolutely amazing. After reading John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces and looking for something to match its wit and humor I discovered Svejk. The tale follows Svejk and his time in the military during WWI. Its main character, being a notorious imbecile, gives the book outstanding humor. Svejk never plays by the rules, in spite of that, he manages to seem innocent. Some of the reviews said that it translation was horrendous but to me it seemed perfect. This book is a unknown, must have, of world literature

...This translation deserves the exposure that Amazon provides. The translators try to operate in the same realm that Hasek/Svejk were operating in. A worthy challenge, well-met. I look forward to the follow-up volumes. (The translators remind us that "Svejk" is pronounced like "shake" with a "v" inserted.)

Three stars for the translation but at least seven for the book.
This is my favourite book, so much so that I'll buy another English translation just as an excuse to re-read it. I was hoping that the new translation, particularly as it is by a Czech, would offer new insights into the book, but it was not to be. I wish I could say that it improved upon Parrott's translation but I don't think it is as good. A pity, as I applaud their efforts.
I was disappointed by the comments the translators, Sadlon and Joyce, made about Parrott for a couple of reasons:
1. Parrott was a keen scholar of the Czech language, a prominent professor of South-Eastern European studies. To write him off as an upper-class British Ambassador with no idea of the language just will not do.
2. Parrott's autobiography of the author, Hasek, is interesting and informative.
3. Whilst working abroad in the USA, I found a second-hand copy of the book, translated by someone before Parrott, and this was pale compared to Parrott's translation.
What I liked most about Parrott's translation is its savage irony, which I didn't feel was there in the new translation. Maybe there was more irony around in England in the 1970s than there was in the United States in the 1990s: I'd be a little disappointed if this irony is all Parrott's contriving - since I don't speak Czech I cannot tell with any certainty, but I know a number of Czechs and they all have a strong anarchic, and generally mucky, humour, so I'm inclined to think that Parrott's translation works on Hasek's level.
My reservation about Parrott is how can the ambassador of a government possibly translate the work of an anarchist? Sadly, this new translation is the work of someone who worked for a government mouthpiece (Voice of America), and indeed has translated for the US head of state, which one could say is no less venal an occupation (to employ a word that Parrott was criticised for using).
This book must be read as a reminder of the corrupt nature of governments and their servants. I agree that Parrott's language seems tame (after all, the translation is thirty years old) with few expletives, but it is a good translation of its time. Being written by an English professor there are no split infinitives.
Until the work is translated by a socialist or anarchist (well worth waiting for), or at least someone sufficiently distanced from organised government, I'd recommend Parrott.
But however you read it, whether you have to learn Czech yourself to do, or cajole someone into translating it for you, you must read The Good Soldier Svejk.

Having looked forward to this translation because of the supposed improvements in it, I was very disappointed to see all the poor and erroneous English usage. Its and It's are confused repeatedly; lay and lie are also misused. It is as though the translators may understand Czeck but aren't sensitive to English! These points would surely have been caught by any kind of editor--my book group decided that there must not have been one at work here. All of us were most unhappy that the promised, and hyped, good reading was not ours! And several members had read the earlier translations, with more pleasure.