Good Soldier Svejk
by Jaroslav Hašek, Karel Vanek, Gerbert Zukkau · first published 2016
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A satirical comic novel about a WWI soldier whose deadpan compliance exposes the absurdity of war and bureaucracy. It is very funny and still relevant, with dark humor that rewards rereading.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hašek - this book is pee-in-your-pants funny. A Czech satire about WWI. Definitely shines a light on the absurdity of war and various institutions - a lot still applies today. There is profundity…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗…incompetence of Soviet COSPLAN as late stage self-devouring Capitalism. The more pompous and rigid the system the more readily it buckles in the face of one well-timed tactical "misunderstanding". The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek epitomises the stance, a form of political Judo, where one goes happily and enthusiastically along with the abusive regime waiting for the perfect moment to tie it's shoelaces together…
on “How to Deal with ‘Weaponized Incompetence’ at Work” ↗Democracy army is good. I even considered to join US or UK forces. For totalitarian armies better model from Jaroslav Hašek, The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War.
on “Leaderless Teams” ↗Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk is an absolutely essential read, it has to be in the list of the top 100 books to read before one departs this planet! Not only is it hilariously funny it's also full of the tribulations of life and how the system—bureaucracies—here the army—lands one in absurd and unexpected situations. It's a great shame Hašek died so young (he was a great observer of human natur
on “The Good Soldier Švejk (2018)” ↗Reread The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek.
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗…Weber's modernity, it is spelled out in intricate, mind numbing detail, in reams of forms that must be gymnastically navigated. One step further in the direction I am describing is the officers of Jaroslav Hasek's Good Soldier Svejk In this incarnation bureaucracy is not an all-powerful force to be feared, it is a stumbling, stuttering, inconsistent fool of a thing that can be easily tricked. It brings tedium not anxiety. I'll wager…
on “Show HN: Make your PDF look scanned in browser” ↗…title). I would like to be able to weight opinions (both positively and negatively) of individuals, and also based on criteria (e.g. "completely ignore the opinions of anyone who gave a low rating to The Good Soldier Svejk" and also "weight by 100 the opinions of anyone that rates The Silver Chair as the best of the Narnia stories".
on “Goodreads Is Broken” ↗