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THREE FACES OF THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEIK
Abstract
According to available information, it is still true that the most translated Czech novel is The Good Soldier Schweik (1921-23) by Jaroslav Hasek. By 2013, it had been translated into 58 languages. Schweik’s journey to the world began with translations into German, initially continuing mainly in the countries of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and further in Russia and Ukraine. This artistic vision of war absurdities became widely known, especially after WWII and inspired such famous antimilitary works like Catch XXII by Joseph Heller, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut or the novels about Private Ivan Chonkin by Vladimir Voinovich. The character of Schweik is provocative and not easy to explain because from time to time, it is not easy to draw a line between idiotism and his common sense allowing him to survive almost everything. The attention of literary criticism is also often paid to Schweik’s specific way of thinking and narration that can be difficult for translating this novel to other cultural contexts. The quality of three English translations (1930, 1973, 1997-2007) differs to a considerable extent and, therefore, we will consider whether it is useful to offer innovated versions of classical texts to the reading public again and again.
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References9
Smith, H. (ed.), A Dictionary of Modern European Literature, London-Oxford, UK, pp. 190 and 367, 1947.
Pynsent, R. B. & Kanikova, S. I., The Everyman Companion to East European Literature, London, UK, p. 142, 1993.
Novak, A., Czech Literature, Ann Arbor, USA, p. 288-289, 1976.
Naughton, J. (ed.), TravellerК»s Literary Companion, Eastern & Central Europe, Brighton, UK, p. 118, 1995.
Porter, R., An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Czech Fiction or Comedies of Defiance, Brighton-Portland, UK, p. 54, 2001.
Hasek, J., The Good Soldier Schweik, London, UK, p. 14, 1930.
Hasek, J., The Good Soldier Svejk, London, UK, p. 6, 2005.
Ibid., p. 18.
Hasek, J., The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk, Chicago, USA, p. 14, 1997.
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