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 Customer Reviews
The power of ideas..., 23 Jul 2008
Milan Kundera has the uncommon ability to twist and manipulate words to their full value and extract from them meaning that is not at first obvious. Throughout `The Unbearable Lightness of Being', he plays a game of word association that enables the reader to view his philosophical concepts in an entirely new light. At the crux of this game lies the debate between `weight' and `lightness' both of which can be considered `good' or `bad', if such crude divisions exist. However behind the metaphysical, Kundera delves into the very real emotions of his characters that he describes as being `born' of particular circumstances and ideas. Most effectively he captures the restlessness of Tereza whose `vertigo' forces her to constantly re-examine her life and what she seeks from it. Tomas is arguably the pivotal point of the novel, but Kundera creates all of his characters with incredible care. The time dedicated to each really pays off while at the same time Kundera slowly draws the reader into the philosophies of Nietzsche, Descartes and Parminides as well as his own conclusions about life and its mysteries.
`The Unbearable Lightness of Being' is utterly the best book I have read in a long, long time and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone, regardless of their taste in fiction. It is powerful, moving and thought-provoking and if I could give it any more than five stars I would. Please read this book!
Definitely needs to be read more than once., 26 Aug 2006
This is an unusual book, and well-worth reading just for its originality. I like what Kundera has done in using a novel as the basis for philosophical speculation. I'm not sure how much validity there is in his philosophy. I've read Russell's History of Modern Philosophy, and don't remember coming across anything in there about excrement being closely related to divinity! But whether or not Kundera's musings have any firm backing from respected philosophers is neither here nor there. Some of them seem to make sense, and all of them are entertaining.
On the down-side, because he has used the novel in this way, the story is not particularly exciting, and the characters are not especially well-developed, perhaps with the exception of Tomas, a man you have to admire for carrying the aroma of several women's groins in his hair! I like the fact that all of the chapters are short, though I don't mind long chapters if the narrative is gripping. It isn't in this book, though the final few chapters are very moving, even if providing a somewhat curious end to a book. I will certainly re-read this book at some point. It is a book one might need to read several times before fully grasping everything the writer has to say, and this is no bad thing.
Weird indeed..., 19 Jul 2006
... but weird is in no way bad. As a start, the story captures your attention from the very first page and the book is hard to put down. The plot itself is not really the central issue, but the thoughts that Kundera puts down whenever he thinks of something and thereby interrupts the thread of the plot. I wouldn't think it is a too "professional-philosophical" book. Kundera asks questions that I am sure cross any ordinary man's mind at some point in life. The way he attempts to answer them is very distinct in his own Kundera-way and opens our eyes to ways of thinking that might have never crossed our minds.
The characters are very real, natural and familiar. I like the comment of one of the other reviewers saying that we "love and hate them at the same time" - just as we basically love and hate everyone else around us simultaneously - including ourselves.
A must-must-must read! Not too "philosophical", believe me.. Rather comfortable and familar in a "weird" way. I would stick a , 28 Apr 2006
I would stick a "weird" label on it. I cannot say I disliked it completely, but I think it is indeed odd book. A few episodes of life from 4 main chars of the book. All of them unfaithful and the writer sort of supports men's desire to sleep with as many women as he can, while he also shows how tolerant a wife can be if she loves her husband.
What was this book about?
Love?
Life?
Politics?
Philosphy?
...no idea, and the end is quite abrupt.
The only character that I really liked was a dog, Karenin. A beautiful story with a deeper meaning, 11 Jan 2006
This book really lived up to the top reviews I had read before I bought it. The characters are strong, the emotions finely balanced, the discussion fascinating. I agree that it can be difficult in places, due to political and philosophical debate, but it's really worth it. This is not the type of novel that you will forget the next day.
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Customer Reviews
The power of ideas..., 23 Jul 2008
Milan Kundera has the uncommon ability to twist and manipulate words to their full value and extract from them meaning that is not at first obvious. Throughout `The Unbearable Lightness of Being', he plays a game of word association that enables the reader to view his philosophical concepts in an entirely new light. At the crux of this game lies the debate between `weight' and `lightness' both of which can be considered `good' or `bad', if such crude divisions exist. However behind the metaphysical, Kundera delves into the very real emotions of his characters that he describes as being `born' of particular circumstances and ideas. Most effectively he captures the restlessness of Tereza whose `vertigo' forces her to constantly re-examine her life and what she seeks from it. Tomas is arguably the pivotal point of the novel, but Kundera creates all of his characters with incredible care. The time dedicated to each really pays off while at the same time Kundera slowly draws the reader into the philosophies of Nietzsche, Descartes and Parminides as well as his own conclusions about life and its mysteries.
`The Unbearable Lightness of Being' is utterly the best book I have read in a long, long time and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone, regardless of their taste in fiction. It is powerful, moving and thought-provoking and if I could give it any more than five stars I would. Please read this book!
Definitely needs to be read more than once., 26 Aug 2006
This is an unusual book, and well-worth reading just for its originality. I like what Kundera has done in using a novel as the basis for philosophical speculation. I'm not sure how much validity there is in his philosophy. I've read Russell's History of Modern Philosophy, and don't remember coming across anything in there about excrement being closely related to divinity! But whether or not Kundera's musings have any firm backing from respected philosophers is neither here nor there. Some of them seem to make sense, and all of them are entertaining.
On the down-side, because he has used the novel in this way, the story is not particularly exciting, and the characters are not especially well-developed, perhaps with the exception of Tomas, a man you have to admire for carrying the aroma of several women's groins in his hair! I like the fact that all of the chapters are short, though I don't mind long chapters if the narrative is gripping. It isn't in this book, though the final few chapters are very moving, even if providing a somewhat curious end to a book. I will certainly re-read this book at some point. It is a book one might need to read several times before fully grasping everything the writer has to say, and this is no bad thing.
Weird indeed..., 19 Jul 2006
... but weird is in no way bad. As a start, the story captures your attention from the very first page and the book is hard to put down. The plot itself is not really the central issue, but the thoughts that Kundera puts down whenever he thinks of something and thereby interrupts the thread of the plot. I wouldn't think it is a too "professional-philosophical" book. Kundera asks questions that I am sure cross any ordinary man's mind at some point in life. The way he attempts to answer them is very distinct in his own Kundera-way and opens our eyes to ways of thinking that might have never crossed our minds.
The characters are very real, natural and familiar. I like the comment of one of the other reviewers saying that we "love and hate them at the same time" - just as we basically love and hate everyone else around us simultaneously - including ourselves.
A must-must-must read! Not too "philosophical", believe me.. Rather comfortable and familar in a "weird" way. I would stick a , 28 Apr 2006
I would stick a "weird" label on it. I cannot say I disliked it completely, but I think it is indeed odd book. A few episodes of life from 4 main chars of the book. All of them unfaithful and the writer sort of supports men's desire to sleep with as many women as he can, while he also shows how tolerant a wife can be if she loves her husband.
What was this book about?
Love?
Life?
Politics?
Philosphy?
...no idea, and the end is quite abrupt.
The only character that I really liked was a dog, Karenin. A beautiful story with a deeper meaning, 11 Jan 2006
This book really lived up to the top reviews I had read before I bought it. The characters are strong, the emotions finely balanced, the discussion fascinating. I agree that it can be difficult in places, due to political and philosophical debate, but it's really worth it. This is not the type of novel that you will forget the next day.
My favourite book, 27 Sep 2008
The Good Soldier Svejk: and His Fortunes in the World War is my favourite book because it's central character is outwardly an imbecile but inwardly highly sophisticated. This literary vehicle is expertly used to illustrate the absurdity of the final years of the Austro-Hungarian empire through the medium of fine humour. The Good Soldier Svejk was the inspiration for many great 20th Century satirical novels, but for my money it is the funniest and best.
A masterpiece, Parrot's, remains the best translation!, 12 May 2007
I have lost my copy of this book, and in searching for a possible replacement I found there is a newer translation in "print on demand" form. However whilst being praised as better and more accurate than Parrot's version (this one) it looses the sense of the original as a rendition of Czech in comprehensible English. Parrot however whilst perhaps toning down some of the swearing seems to capture the Czech idioms with that halting quality I experienced when traveling through Bohemia and Moravia with a good Czech to English translator during the 1980's. Indeed it is only when you come across a bad translator who managed to make Czech sound exactly like Shakespeare (for archaic expressions and flow) that you realize just how hard it is to translate Czech to English or for that matter any other language. The problem lies in the use of idioms rather than direct speech and in order to render the language comprehensibly in English the idioms have to be reinterpreted. Parrot does this brilliantly in my view. This is a must read book for anyone especially those interested in military activity during WW1, the remnants of Austro-Hungarian rule and the history of Bohemia & Moravia. Highly enjoyable by the way!
Unsteady but great book, 15 Apr 2007
I don't know much about novels but I recognise when I read one like Svejk. I must also admit that style of book is unsteady, I believe that is because author didn't get the book quite ready before he died. Some parts of the book could need some editing but when author is dead it's better not to touch the text. So if you feel that there's a bit boring twenty pages go a head read on good stuff might burst you to laugh on a very next page.
hilarious and poignant, 20 Jan 2007
Svejk's journey from dog breeder to orderly in a Czech regiment sent to fight on the Galician front against the Russians in WW1 gives us a fascinating and humanising glimpse into a world usually only accessed via grainy black and white snaps. The wicked humour Hasek employs transcends the 90 year time gap and lays bare the moral bankruptcy of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The author's many delirious ravings, while lengthening the book enormously, are often unspeakably funny and inspired!
In the spirit of Hasek., 19 Jan 2007
Cecil Parrott, the translator of this edition, was the British Ambassador to Czechoslavakia for a time in the 60s and is also the author of The Bad Bohemian, a biography of Jaroslav Hasek. The previous reviewer complained of basic grammatical errors in the translation and about a slapdash approach which obscured plot details. These faults, if they are to be considered faults, are more true to the original serialised novel than previous translations of Svejk have allowed for.
The last translation of Svejk published by Penguin was translated by Paul Selver and had been abridged to such an extent that it was two-thirds the length of the Parrott version. Also, much of the coarse language of Hasek was removed altering the spirit of the novel. For instance, when the secret police agent arrests Palivec, in Selver's version he says,
'I've got you for saying that the flies left their trademark on the Emperor'.
Parrott's translation, truer to the original, reads;
' "But what am I going for?" moaned Palivec. Bretschneider smiled and said triumphantly: "Because you said the flies shitted on His Imperial Majesty." '
As Hasek says in his epilogue to part I; 'in these two volumes the soldiers and civilian population will go on talking and acting as they do in real life.'
Which, presumably, means including not only their swearing but their grammatical errors.
Concerning the problem with translation, the following is a paraphrase of Parrott's introduction. 'There is no authorised text to base a translation on. Hasek only saw the first and second editions of Svejk during his lifetime and their is no certainty that even these texts represent what he wrote or approved as only a part of the manuscript has been preserved. Hasek cared little about what he had written once he sent it off to the printer. There are two groups of texts, the texts published before the second world war and the texts published from the 50s onwards which were revised in orthography, grammar and syntax. (Parrott) drew on both groups of texts, chosing whichever version seemed clearer and more consistent. Svejk and many of the other characters in the book use what is called common Czech. This cannot adequately be rendered in English, since the only equivalent would be dialect or bad English. (Parrott) felt dialect would create the wrong atmosphere as any British dialect would be associated with people and conditions of a very different kind.
It is characteristic of Svejk's way of telling a story that he does not bother about syntax. This of course is an indication of his mentality and a part of his character, but it is also a reflection of the author's disregard of grammatical rules.'
As for lapses in the plot, the very nature of the novel is plotless, episodic, elliptical, meandering. Hasek was writing to make money and spun out the book to increase his earnings, digressing as he saw fit.
The Good Soldier Svejk is an anarchic masterpiece. And, if you're a literary train-spotter, compare it with Catch 22 and Slaughterhouse 5 to see where Heller and Vonnegut 'borrowed' from...
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Customer Reviews
The power of ideas..., 23 Jul 2008
Milan Kundera has the uncommon ability to twist and manipulate words to their full value and extract from them meaning that is not at first obvious. Throughout `The Unbearable Lightness of Being', he plays a game of word association that enables the reader to view his philosophical concepts in an entirely new light. At the crux of this game lies the debate between `weight' and `lightness' both of which can be considered `good' or `bad', if such crude divisions exist. However behind the metaphysical, Kundera delves into the very real emotions of his characters that he describes as being `born' of particular circumstances and ideas. Most effectively he captures the restlessness of Tereza whose `vertigo' forces her to constantly re-examine her life and what she seeks from it. Tomas is arguably the pivotal point of the novel, but Kundera creates all of his characters with incredible care. The time dedicated to each really pays off while at the same time Kundera slowly draws the reader into the philosophies of Nietzsche, Descartes and Parminides as well as his own conclusions about life and its mysteries.
`The Unbearable Lightness of Being' is utterly the best book I have read in a long, long time and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone, regardless of their taste in fiction. It is powerful, moving and thought-provoking and if I could give it any more than five stars I would. Please read this book!
Definitely needs to be read more than once., 26 Aug 2006
This is an unusual book, and well-worth reading just for its originality. I like what Kundera has done in using a novel as the basis for philosophical speculation. I'm not sure how much validity there is in his philosophy. I've read Russell's History of Modern Philosophy, and don't remember coming across anything in there about excrement being closely related to divinity! But whether or not Kundera's musings have any firm backing from respected philosophers is neither here nor there. Some of them seem to make sense, and all of them are entertaining.
On the down-side, because he has used the novel in this way, the story is not particularly exciting, and the characters are not especially well-developed, perhaps with the exception of Tomas, a man you have to admire for carrying the aroma of several women's groins in his hair! I like the fact that all of the chapters are short, though I don't mind long chapters if the narrative is gripping. It isn't in this book, though the final few chapters are very moving, even if providing a somewhat curious end to a book. I will certainly re-read this book at some point. It is a book one might need to read several times before fully grasping everything the writer has to say, and this is no bad thing.
Weird indeed..., 19 Jul 2006
... but weird is in no way bad. As a start, the story captures your attention from the very first page and the book is hard to put down. The plot itself is not really the central issue, but the thoughts that Kundera puts down whenever he thinks of something and thereby interrupts the thread of the plot. I wouldn't think it is a too "professional-philosophical" book. Kundera asks questions that I am sure cross any ordinary man's mind at some point in life. The way he attempts to answer them is very distinct in his own Kundera-way and opens our eyes to ways of thinking that might have never crossed our minds.
The characters are very real, natural and familiar. I like the comment of one of the other reviewers saying that we "love and hate them at the same time" - just as we basically love and hate everyone else around us simultaneously - including ourselves.
A must-must-must read! Not too "philosophical", believe me.. Rather comfortable and familar in a "weird" way. I would stick a , 28 Apr 2006
I would stick a "weird" label on it. I cannot say I disliked it completely, but I think it is indeed odd book. A few episodes of life from 4 main chars of the book. All of them unfaithful and the writer sort of supports men's desire to sleep with as many women as he can, while he also shows how tolerant a wife can be if she loves her husband.
What was this book about?
Love?
Life?
Politics?
Philosphy?
...no idea, and the end is quite abrupt.
The only character that I really liked was a dog, Karenin. A beautiful story with a deeper meaning, 11 Jan 2006
This book really lived up to the top reviews I had read before I bought it. The characters are strong, the emotions finely balanced, the discussion fascinating. I agree that it can be difficult in places, due to political and philosophical debate, but it's really worth it. This is not the type of novel that you will forget the next day.
My favourite book, 27 Sep 2008
The Good Soldier Svejk: and His Fortunes in the World War is my favourite book because it's central character is outwardly an imbecile but inwardly highly sophisticated. This literary vehicle is expertly used to illustrate the absurdity of the final years of the Austro-Hungarian empire through the medium of fine humour. The Good Soldier Svejk was the inspiration for many great 20th Century satirical novels, but for my money it is the funniest and best.
A masterpiece, Parrot's, remains the best translation!, 12 May 2007
I have lost my copy of this book, and in searching for a possible replacement I found there is a newer translation in "print on demand" form. However whilst being praised as better and more accurate than Parrot's version (this one) it looses the sense of the original as a rendition of Czech in comprehensible English. Parrot however whilst perhaps toning down some of the swearing seems to capture the Czech idioms with that halting quality I experienced when traveling through Bohemia and Moravia with a good Czech to English translator during the 1980's. Indeed it is only when you come across a bad translator who managed to make Czech sound exactly like Shakespeare (for archaic expressions and flow) that you realize just how hard it is to translate Czech to English or for that matter any other language. The problem lies in the use of idioms rather than direct speech and in order to render the language comprehensibly in English the idioms have to be reinterpreted. Parrot does this brilliantly in my view. This is a must read book for anyone especially those interested in military activity during WW1, the remnants of Austro-Hungarian rule and the history of Bohemia & Moravia. Highly enjoyable by the way!
Unsteady but great book, 15 Apr 2007
I don't know much about novels but I recognise when I read one like Svejk. I must also admit that style of book is unsteady, I believe that is because author didn't get the book quite ready before he died. Some parts of the book could need some editing but when author is dead it's better not to touch the text. So if you feel that there's a bit boring twenty pages go a head read on good stuff might burst you to laugh on a very next page.
hilarious and poignant, 20 Jan 2007
Svejk's journey from dog breeder to orderly in a Czech regiment sent to fight on the Galician front against the Russians in WW1 gives us a fascinating and humanising glimpse into a world usually only accessed via grainy black and white snaps. The wicked humour Hasek employs transcends the 90 year time gap and lays bare the moral bankruptcy of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The author's many delirious ravings, while lengthening the book enormously, are often unspeakably funny and inspired!
In the spirit of Hasek., 19 Jan 2007
Cecil Parrott, the translator of this edition, was the British Ambassador to Czechoslavakia for a time in the 60s and is also the author of The Bad Bohemian, a biography of Jaroslav Hasek. The previous reviewer complained of basic grammatical errors in the translation and about a slapdash approach which obscured plot details. These faults, if they are to be considered faults, are more true to the original serialised novel than previous translations of Svejk have allowed for.
The last translation of Svejk published by Penguin was translated by Paul Selver and had been abridged to such an extent that it was two-thirds the length of the Parrott version. Also, much of the coarse language of Hasek was removed altering the spirit of the novel. For instance, when the secret police agent arrests Palivec, in Selver's version he says,
'I've got you for saying that the flies left their trademark on the Emperor'.
Parrott's translation, truer to the original, reads;
' "But what am I going for?" moaned Palivec. Bretschneider smiled and said triumphantly: "Because you said the flies shitted on His Imperial Majesty." '
As Hasek says in his epilogue to part I; 'in these two volumes the soldiers and civilian population will go on talking and acting as they do in real life.'
Which, presumably, means including not only their swearing but their grammatical errors.
Concerning the problem with translation, the following is a paraphrase of Parrott's introduction. 'There is no authorised text to base a translation on. Hasek only saw the first and second editions of Svejk during his lifetime and their is no certainty that even these texts represent what he wrote or approved as only a part of the manuscript has been preserved. Hasek cared little about what he had written once he sent it off to the printer. There are two groups of texts, the texts published before the second world war and the texts published from the 50s onwards which were revised in orthography, grammar and syntax. (Parrott) drew on both groups of texts, chosing whichever version seemed clearer and more consistent. Svejk and many of the other characters in the book use what is called common Czech. This cannot adequately be rendered in English, since the only equivalent would be dialect or bad English. (Parrott) felt dialect would create the wrong atmosphere as any British dialect would be associated with people and conditions of a very different kind.
It is characteristic of Svejk's way of telling a story that he does not bother about syntax. This of course is an indication of his mentality and a part of his character, but it is also a reflection of the author's disregard of grammatical rules.'
As for lapses in the plot, the very nature of the novel is plotless, episodic, elliptical, meandering. Hasek was writing to make money and spun out the book to increase his earnings, digressing as he saw fit.
The Good Soldier Svejk is an anarchic masterpiece. And, if you're a literary train-spotter, compare it with Catch 22 and Slaughterhouse 5 to see where Heller and Vonnegut 'borrowed' from...
PHENOMENAL, FANTASTIC, INSERT YOUR OWN SUPERLATIVE, 28 Sep 2008
Having read this, it makes me regret either giving almost any other book a five-star rating or the fact that it's not possible to give six stars in special circumstances. And these are special circumstances. All those books that have the five stars, they deserve them: they're great reads. But this, this is just exceptional. A masterpiece.
Yesterday, I wasn't reading a book. I was spending time in the company of a great person or great people. The style is so personal and intimate. Not only in the sense that another's soul is being laid bare but also in the sense of your own life stories being revealed to you. Very, very moving and very, very thought-provoking.
If you are at all interested in the condition of being human, human identity or you just enjoy meeting great characters in a book, it is impossible for me to rate this highly enough.
Time to stop now before I gush too much.
Laugh, cry, forget, transcend, 29 Jun 2007
Seven stories intertwined by intent, fantasy and romance. Excellent and lean prose; epigrammatic, well-footed, lofty but not imposing.
If people didn't neurotically exhaust themselves reading crap they'd read Milan Kundera.
you wont forget this, 06 Jan 2003
This book was the best accident that ever happened to me. I picked it up because it was cheap and it stopped me reading Dean Koontz which can only be a good thing! It has a fractured, post modern narrative which leaps back and forth and the author brings into question who is writing and what is being created. The language he uses is amazing at times for it's sheer simplicity. The words seem to dance around each other - quite literally at times as in the chapter where the whole world begins to dance in a ring which floats off into the sky. Kundera owes a lot to Kafka although he seems to have a more optimistic outlook on life. He also reminds me at times of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as strange things begin to happen yet none of the characters notice anything strange! He creates fantastically interesting theories and perfect sentances. Read it.
Once again Kundera at his "Unbearable" best!, 15 Mar 2001
Simply brilliant! Kundera once again keeps you quite literally captivated for 312 pages and then has you just asking for more.This is most certainly one of his best and altough not probably as well known as "Immortality" or "The unbearable lightness of being" it certainly earns the right to sit up there alongside them as a Kundera classic.Once again all the usual Kundera hallmarks are there,his passion for Prague and his country,the brilliantly interwinning themes and characters and most importantly the pain that inspires his writing.This truly is a most thought-provoking read and once again just leaves you wanting more!
Its a book about laughter and forgetting..., 17 Dec 2000
Milan Kundera always lives up to the titles. Unbearable lightness of being was quite satisfyingly about the unbearable lightness of being. The book of Laughter and Forgetting similarly lives up to its title and far surpasses it... The range which Kundera covers is incredible. He jumps quite easily from political to philosophical, to insightful and to intensly moving passages with ease.
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Embers
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £2.95
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Product Description
In Sándor Márai's Embers, two old men, once the best of friends, meet after a 41-year break in their relationship. They dine together, taking the same places at the table that they had assumed on the last meal they shared, then sit beside each other in front of a dying fire, one of them near-silent, the other one, his host, slowly and deliberately tracing the course of their dead friendship. This sensitive, long-considered elaboration of one man's lifelong grievance is as gripping as any adventure story, and explains why Maáai's forgotten 1942 masterpiece is being compared with the work of Thomas Mann. In some ways, M´rai's work is more modern than Mann's. His simplicity and succinct, unadorned lyricism may call to mind Latin American novelists like Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez, or even Italo Calvino. It is the tone of magical realism, although Márai's work is only magical in the sense that he completely engages his reader, spinning a web of words as his wounded central character describes his betrayal and abandonment at the hands of his closest friend. Even the setting, an old castle, evokes dark fairy tales. The story of the rediscovery of Embers is as fascinating as the novel itself. A celebrated Hungarian novelist of the 1930s, Márai survived the war but was persecuted by the Communists after they came to power. His books were suppressed, even destroyed, and he was forced to flee his country in 1948. He died in San Diego in 1989, one year before the neglected Embers was finally reprinted in his native land. This reprint was discovered by the Italian writer and publisher Roberto Calasso, and the subsequent editions have become international bestsellers. All of his novels are now slated for American publication. --Regina Marler
Customer Reviews
The power of ideas..., 23 Jul 2008
Milan Kundera has the uncommon ability to twist and manipulate words to their full value and extract from them meaning that is not at first obvious. Throughout `The Unbearable Lightness of Being', he plays a game of word association that enables the reader to view his philosophical concepts in an entirely new light. At the crux of this game lies the debate between `weight' and `lightness' both of which can be considered `good' or `bad', if such crude divisions exist. However behind the metaphysical, Kundera delves into the very real emotions of his characters that he describes as being `born' of particular circumstances and ideas. Most effectively he captures the restlessness of Tereza whose `vertigo' forces her to constantly re-examine her life and what she seeks from it. Tomas is arguably the pivotal point of the novel, but Kundera creates all of his characters with incredible care. The time dedicated to each really pays off while at the same time Kundera slowly draws the reader into the philosophies of Nietzsche, Descartes and Parminides as well as his own conclusions about life and its mysteries.
`The Unbearable Lightness of Being' is utterly the best book I have read in a long, long time and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone, regardless of their taste in fiction. It is powerful, moving and thought-provoking and if I could give it any more than five stars I would. Please read this book!
Definitely needs to be read more than once., 26 Aug 2006
This is an unusual book, and well-worth reading just for its originality. I like what Kundera has done in using a novel as the basis for philosophical speculation. I'm not sure how much validity there is in his philosophy. I've read Russell's History of Modern Philosophy, and don't remember coming across anything in there about excrement being closely related to divinity! But whether or not Kundera's musings have any firm backing from respected philosophers is neither here nor there. Some of them seem to make sense, and all of them are entertaining.
On the down-side, because he has used the novel in this way, the story is not particularly exciting, and the characters are not especially well-developed, perhaps with the exception of Tomas, a man you have to admire for carrying the aroma of several women's groins in his hair! I like the fact that all of the chapters are short, though I don't mind long chapters if the narrative is gripping. It isn't in this book, though the final few chapters are very moving, even if providing a somewhat curious end to a book. I will certainly re-read this book at some point. It is a book one might need to read several times before fully grasping everything the writer has to say, and this is no bad thing.
Weird indeed..., 19 Jul 2006
... but weird is in no way bad. As a start, the story captures your attention from the very first page and the book is hard to put down. The plot itself is not really the central issue, but the thoughts that Kundera puts down whenever he thinks of something and thereby interrupts the thread of the plot. I wouldn't think it is a too "professional-philosophical" book. Kundera asks questions that I am sure cross any ordinary man's mind at some point in life. The way he attempts to answer them is very distinct in his own Kundera-way and opens our eyes to ways of thinking that might have never crossed our minds.
The characters are very real, natural and familiar. I like the comment of one of the other reviewers saying that we "love and hate them at the same time" - just as we basically love and hate everyone else around us simultaneously - including ourselves.
A must-must-must read! Not too "philosophical", believe me.. Rather comfortable and familar in a "weird" way. I would stick a , 28 Apr 2006
I would stick a "weird" label on it. I cannot say I disliked it completely, but I think it is indeed odd book. A few episodes of life from 4 main chars of the book. All of them unfaithful and the writer sort of supports men's desire to sleep with as many women as he can, while he also shows how tolerant a wife can be if she loves her husband.
What was this book about?
Love?
Life?
Politics?
Philosphy?
...no idea, and the end is quite abrupt.
The only character that I really liked was a dog, Karenin. A beautiful story with a deeper meaning, 11 Jan 2006
This book really lived up to the top reviews I had read before I bought it. The characters are strong, the emotions finely balanced, the discussion fascinating. I agree that it can be difficult in places, due to political and philosophical debate, but it's really worth it. This is not the type of novel that you will forget the next day.
My favourite book, 27 Sep 2008
The Good Soldier Svejk: and His Fortunes in the World War is my favourite book because it's central character is outwardly an imbecile but inwardly highly sophisticated. This literary vehicle is expertly used to illustrate the absurdity of the final years of the Austro-Hungarian empire through the medium of fine humour. The Good Soldier Svejk was the inspiration for many great 20th Century satirical novels, but for my money it is the funniest and best.
A masterpiece, Parrot's, remains the best translation!, 12 May 2007
I have lost my copy of this book, and in searching for a possible replacement I found there is a newer translation in "print on demand" form. However whilst being praised as better and more accurate than Parrot's version (this one) it looses the sense of the original as a rendition of Czech in comprehensible English. Parrot however whilst perhaps toning down some of the swearing seems to capture the Czech idioms with that halting quality I experienced when traveling through Bohemia and Moravia with a good Czech to English translator during the 1980's. Indeed it is only when you come across a bad translator who managed to make Czech sound exactly like Shakespeare (for archaic expressions and flow) that you realize just how hard it is to translate Czech to English or for that matter any other language. The problem lies in the use of idioms rather than direct speech and in order to render the language comprehensibly in English the idioms have to be reinterpreted. Parrot does this brilliantly in my view. This is a must read book for anyone especially those interested in military activity during WW1, the remnants of Austro-Hungarian rule and the history of Bohemia & Moravia. Highly enjoyable by the way!
Unsteady but great book, 15 Apr 2007
I don't know much about novels but I recognise when I read one like Svejk. I must also admit that style of book is unsteady, I believe that is because author didn't get the book quite ready before he died. Some parts of the book could need some editing but when author is dead it's better not to touch the text. So if you feel that there's a bit boring twenty pages go a head read on good stuff might burst you to laugh on a very next page.
hilarious and poignant, 20 Jan 2007
Svejk's journey from dog breeder to orderly in a Czech regiment sent to fight on the Galician front against the Russians in WW1 gives us a fascinating and humanising glimpse into a world usually only accessed via grainy black and white snaps. The wicked humour Hasek employs transcends the 90 year time gap and lays bare the moral bankruptcy of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The author's many delirious ravings, while lengthening the book enormously, are often unspeakably funny and inspired!
In the spirit of Hasek., 19 Jan 2007
Cecil Parrott, the translator of this edition, was the British Ambassador to Czechoslavakia for a time in the 60s and is also the author of The Bad Bohemian, a biography of Jaroslav Hasek. The previous reviewer complained of basic grammatical errors in the translation and about a slapdash approach which obscured plot details. These faults, if they are to be considered faults, are more true to the original serialised novel than previous translations of Svejk have allowed for.
The last translation of Svejk published by Penguin was translated by Paul Selver and had been abridged to such an extent that it was two-thirds the length of the Parrott version. Also, much of the coarse language of Hasek was removed altering the spirit of the novel. For instance, when the secret police agent arrests Palivec, in Selver's version he says,
'I've got you for saying that the flies left their trademark on the Emperor'.
Parrott's translation, truer to the original, reads;
' "But what am I going for?" moaned Palivec. Bretschneider smiled and said triumphantly: "Because you said the flies shitted on His Imperial Majesty." '
As Hasek says in his epilogue to part I; 'in these two volumes the soldiers and civilian population will go on talking and acting as they do in real life.'
Which, presumably, means including not only their swearing but their grammatical errors.
Concerning the problem with translation, the following is a paraphrase of Parrott's introduction. 'There is no authorised text to base a translation on. Hasek only saw the first and second editions of Svejk during his lifetime and their is no certainty that even these texts represent what he wrote or approved as only a part of the manuscript has been preserved. Hasek cared little about what he had written once he sent it off to the printer. There are two groups of texts, the texts published before the second world war and the texts published from the 50s onwards which were revised in orthography, grammar and syntax. (Parrott) drew on both groups of texts, chosing whichever version seemed clearer and more consistent. Svejk and many of the other characters in the book use what is called common Czech. This cannot adequately be rendered in English, since the only equivalent would be dialect or bad English. (Parrott) felt dialect would create the wrong atmosphere as any British dialect would be associated with people and conditions of a very different kind.
It is characteristic of Svejk's way of telling a story that he does not bother about syntax. This of course is an indication of his mentality and a part of his character, but it is also a reflection of the author's disregard of grammatical rules.'
As for lapses in the plot, the very nature of the novel is plotless, episodic, elliptical, meandering. Hasek was writing to make money and spun out the book to increase his earnings, digressing as he saw fit.
The Good Soldier Svejk is an anarchic masterpiece. And, if you're a literary train-spotter, compare it with Catch 22 and Slaughterhouse 5 to see where Heller and Vonnegut 'borrowed' from...
PHENOMENAL, FANTASTIC, INSERT YOUR OWN SUPERLATIVE, 28 Sep 2008
Having read this, it makes me regret either giving almost any other book a five-star rating or the fact that it's not possible to give six stars in special circumstances. And these are special circumstances. All those books that have the five stars, they deserve them: they're great reads. But this, this is just exceptional. A masterpiece.
Yesterday, I wasn't reading a book. I was spending time in the company of a great person or great people. The style is so personal and intimate. Not only in the sense that another's soul is being laid bare but also in the sense of your own life stories being revealed to you. Very, very moving and very, very thought-provoking.
If you are at all interested in the condition of being human, human identity or you just enjoy meeting great characters in a book, it is impossible for me to rate this highly enough.
Time to stop now before I gush too much.
Laugh, cry, forget, transcend, 29 Jun 2007
Seven stories intertwined by intent, fantasy and romance. Excellent and lean prose; epigrammatic, well-footed, lofty but not imposing.
If people didn't neurotically exhaust themselves reading crap they'd read Milan Kundera.
you wont forget this, 06 Jan 2003
This book was the best accident that ever happened to me. I picked it up because it was cheap and it stopped me reading Dean Koontz which can only be a good thing! It has a fractured, post modern narrative which leaps back and forth and the author brings into question who is writing and what is being created. The language he uses is amazing at times for it's sheer simplicity. The words seem to dance around each other - quite literally at times as in the chapter where the whole world begins to dance in a ring which floats off into the sky. Kundera owes a lot to Kafka although he seems to have a more optimistic outlook on life. He also reminds me at times of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as strange things begin to happen yet none of the characters notice anything strange! He creates fantastically interesting theories and perfect sentances. Read it.
Once again Kundera at his "Unbearable" best!, 15 Mar 2001
Simply brilliant! Kundera once again keeps you quite literally captivated for 312 pages and then has you just asking for more.This is most certainly one of his best and altough not probably as well known as "Immortality" or "The unbearable lightness of being" it certainly earns the right to sit up there alongside them as a Kundera classic.Once again all the usual Kundera hallmarks are there,his passion for Prague and his country,the brilliantly interwinning themes and characters and most importantly the pain that inspires his writing.This truly is a most thought-provoking read and once again just leaves you wanting more!
Its a book about laughter and forgetting..., 17 Dec 2000
Milan Kundera always lives up to the titles. Unbearable lightness of being was quite satisfyingly about the unbearable lightness of being. The book of Laughter and Forgetting similarly lives up to its title and far surpasses it... The range which Kundera covers is incredible. He jumps quite easily from political to philosophical, to insightful and to intensly moving passages with ease.
Oh, for the good old days of Austro-Hungary, 17 Sep 2008
It is always interesting when a book from the past - Embers was written in 1942 - gets rediscovered or translated for the first time. A similar thing happened recently with the excellent Suite Française. This is a very different kind of book, though, a nostalgic evocation of the colourful, pluralistic days (for some) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The story is simple: an aging General sits in his castle in the Carpathian Mountains awaiting his inseparable boyhood friend who he had not seen for forty-one years. However, he had not seen him because his friend had fled after a devastating act of betrayal which had left their lives shattered. Everything is arranged to reproduce the exact conditions, even the meals, of their final meeting before the incident. A profound meditation on the nature of friendship and personal loyalty, much of the novel revolves around a moving monologue by the General to his almost silent friend recounting their lives together and the reality of their duty to each other. Of course, a woman is involved. The evening gets darker and the wine flows as freely as the words. Strongly elegiac in nature Embers is a beautifully written story, rather slow in pace but short enough to overcome that, and is of considerable historical interest. It does, though, contain rather anachronistic notions of pride and duty, and the quaint view that the strongest bond between two human beings is that between two men. Plato may have believed that but I don't. And whatever betrayal someone had committed against me I could never have afforded the luxury of sitting around in my castle and moping about it for forty years. Like most people, I would have to have got a job! Strongly recommended, though.
Great novel by Hungary's Sandor Marai, 10 Aug 2008
This is the third book I have read from Hungarian author Sandor Marai, after Eszther's Inheritance and Divorce in Buda (neither of which is translated into English, as far as I know). Embers is better than Divorce but not as good as Eszther. By this point, one can find certain common elements in Marai's books: middle-aged or elderly individuals remembering bitterly their past, long flashbacks, encounters after a very long time, long winded speeches, a pessimistic view of life. Embers tells the tale of two friends, who met when they were teenagers at the military academy of the Austro-Hungarian empire. One, named Henrik, came from a rich family; the other, named Konrad, came from a poor one. For many years, they were inseparable. Now (the action takes place in 1940) they are 75 years old, and they haven't met in 41 years, after Konrad fled after a mysterious hunt with Henrik. He went on to live on the Orient for 40 years. What cause him to flee? And did Henrik's wife, the late Krisztina, has anything to do with his decision? After receiving Konrad in his country house in the Hungarian Carpathians, the hidden truth slowly starts to emerge. A great book, though perhaps not a masterpiece (Marai's writing style can be a bit too verbose and heavy going at times).
get to the point., 17 Mar 2008
What would you say to your old best friend if he had suddenly disappeared, and then had re-appeared forty-odd years later?
Probably 'Where the hell did YOU go?' and then you'd let him answer.
The premise to this book is great, it's got a nice moody cover, great reviews, - but the truth is this story just goes on and on, discussing just about everything except where the hell Konrad has been or why he vanished. In fact the poor guy barely gets a word in, and must be sitting there in the candlelight wishing he'd never returned.
Even on the odd occasion that Konrad gets the chance, even an invitation to explain himself, the General butts in and waffles on for pages and pages about anything and everything all over again. And in the end you sense that Konrad has just given up and is looking at his watch.
Certainly the story is well written, but no-one talks like this, nor would treat a guest so rudely. Hardly suprising that this old bore has lived alone all these years. He wouldn't have many friends, and certainly no repeat visitors.
I finished the book out of grim determination and a strange curiosity as to whether poor Konrad would finally get a word in. But now it's over I don't feel I can even hand this book into a second hand store as it would be unkind to pass this tedious but well written yawn into someone else's life.
I would suggest that anyone looking for the passion and emotional charge that this book pretends to offer would be far better off to consider 'Love in the Time of Cholera' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I know you'll read all those other reviews again and ignore mine, but you will only have yourself to blame. I'm sure Konrad had a great story to tell, but we'll never know, he slipped out quietly while the General was pontificating into the air.
Facts are not the whole truth, 18 Dec 2007
This short novel tackles fundamental problems like truth, the real nature of man or the importance of human relations.
For Sándor Márai, `facts are only part of the truth.' `Sometimes facts are no more than pitiful consequences because guilt does not reside in our acts but in the intentions that give rise to our acts.'
However, motives are mostly hidden in the human night, `filled with the crouching forms of dreams, desires, vanities, self-interest, mad love, envy and the thirst for revenge.'
Therefore, we have to accept betrayal and disloyalty. `Why should we expect better of the world, when it teems with unconscious desires and their all-too-deliberate consequences ... young men are bayoneting the hands of young men of other nations and all laws and conventions have been voided?'
Or, there are the debilitating pressures of parents on their children; `never a journey, never a summer outing, because I must be made into the masterpiece that they failed to achieve.'
For Sándor Márai, however, there is one passion one should not lose: self-respect, `the implacable foundation of humanity'. Losing self-respect equals opening the flood of inhuman evil and unstoppable self-destruction.
The long confession of one of the protagonists of this book turns into an in depth reflection on mankind and the world we live in.
Not to be missed.
why did Konrad return?, 09 Nov 2007
Beautifully written, atmospheric, especially at the beginning but disappointing ultimately. I've read quite a few reviews and agree with criticisms, such as, why was his relationship with Nini not developed further? I found her a fascinating character and expected to hear more about her? Why were Konrad's and Krisztina's characters not developed more fully? The general is a pompous old bore who browbeats everyone into doing what he wants, including somehow getting his long estranged friend to come to dinner and listen to his conclusions on why he had left all those years ago and his philosophizing about an event which really should pale in comparison with other events in his life (he survived wars! without killing anyone also he admits which is unbelievable and can only be attributed to his rank I suppose). His wife is now over thirty years dead and he has had every opportunity to move on but instead chooses to dwell in bitterness and obsess over the past. This I suppose is a result of the strict code by which life was lived under the culture of the Austro-Hungarian empire where propriety and 'honour' mattered more than the well being of the individual. But Konrad's motivation for returning is weak. Is it some kind of honour thing? He wants to look his former friend in the eye before he dies? allow him to slap his face? literally? metaphorically? this is unclear but perhaps within the framework of the culture at the time is taken for granted as understood by the reader. does the wrong that Konrad and Krisztina committed against him allow him the moral authority to monopolize their interaction? is he permitted to 'try' his former friend in this way? what happened to the statute of limitations on these things. I just found it so unlikely that Konrad would permit this. I can only attribute it to the honour code among soldiers or his own feelings of guilt at the betrayal of his friend. or maybe it was all just a fantasy of the Generals. But I suspect I am judging it outside the cultural/political framework in which it was written. Still, for beauty, atmosphere, detail and the raising of universal themes about life such as dualities between nature/civlization, instinct/reason, male/female, life/death it is definitely worth reading.
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Customer Reviews
The power of ideas..., 23 Jul 2008
Milan Kundera has the uncommon ability to twist and manipulate words to their full value and extract from them meaning that is not at first obvious. Throughout `The Unbearable Lightness of Being', he plays a game of word association that enables the reader to view his philosophical concepts in an entirely new light. At the crux of this game lies the debate between `weight' and `lightness' both of which can be considered `good' or `bad', if such crude divisions exist. However behind the metaphysical, Kundera delves into the very real emotions of his characters that he describes as being `born' of particular circumstances and ideas. Most effectively he captures the restlessness of Tereza whose `vertigo' forces her to constantly re-examine her life and what she seeks from it. Tomas is arguably the pivotal point of the novel, but Kundera creates all of his characters with incredible care. The time dedicated to each really pays off while at the same time Kundera slowly draws the reader into the philosophies of Nietzsche, Descartes and Parminides as well as his own conclusions about life and its mysteries.
`The Unbearable Lightness of Being' is utterly the best book I have read in a long, long time and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone, regardless of their taste in fiction. It is powerful, moving and thought-provoking and if I could give it any more than five stars I would. Please read this book!
Definitely needs to be read more than once., 26 Aug 2006
This is an unusual book, and well-worth reading just for its originality. I like what Kundera has done in using a novel as the basis for philosophical speculation. I'm not sure how much validity there is in his philosophy. I've read Russell's History of Modern Philosophy, and don't remember coming across anything in there about excrement being closely related to divinity! But whether or not Kundera's musings have any firm backing from respected philosophers is neither here nor there. Some of them seem to make sense, and all of them are entertaining.
On the down-side, because he has used the novel in this way, the story is not particularly exciting, and the characters are not especially well-developed, perhaps with the exception of Tomas, a man you have to admire for carrying the aroma of several women's groins in his hair! I like the fact that all of the chapters are short, though I don't mind long chapters if the narrative is gripping. It isn't in this book, though the final few chapters are very moving, even if providing a somewhat curious end to a book. I will certainly re-read this book at some point. It is a book one might need to read several times before fully grasping everything the writer has to say, and this is no bad thing.
Weird indeed..., 19 Jul 2006
... but weird is in no way bad. As a start, the story captures your attention from the very first page and the book is hard to put down. The plot itself is not really the central issue, but the thoughts that Kundera puts down whenever he thinks of something and thereby interrupts the thread of the plot. I wouldn't think it is a too "professional-philosophical" book. Kundera asks questions that I am sure cross any ordinary man's mind at some point in life. The way he attempts to answer them is very distinct in his own Kundera-way and opens our eyes to ways of thinking that might have never crossed our minds.
The characters are very real, natural and familiar. I like the comment of one of the other reviewers saying that we "love and hate them at the same time" - just as we basically love and hate everyone else around us simultaneously - including ourselves.
A must-must-must read! Not too "philosophical", believe me.. Rather comfortable and familar in a "weird" way. I would stick a , 28 Apr 2006
I would stick a "weird" label on it. I cannot say I disliked it completely, but I think it is indeed odd book. A few episodes of life from 4 main chars of the book. All of them unfaithful and the writer sort of supports men's desire to sleep with as many women as he can, while he also shows how tolerant a wife can be if she loves her husband.
What was this book about?
Love?
Life?
Politics?
Philosphy?
...no idea, and the end is quite abrupt.
The only character that I really liked was a dog, Karenin. A beautiful story with a deeper meaning, 11 Jan 2006
This book really lived up to the top reviews I had read before I bought it. The characters are strong, the emotions finely balanced, the discussion fascinating. I agree that it can be difficult in places, due to political and philosophical debate, but it's really worth it. This is not the type of novel that you will forget the next day.
My favourite book, 27 Sep 2008
The Good Soldier Svejk: and His Fortunes in the World War is my favourite book because it's central character is outwardly an imbecile but inwardly highly sophisticated. This literary vehicle is expertly used to illustrate the absurdity of the final years of the Austro-Hungarian empire through the medium of fine humour. The Good Soldier Svejk was the inspiration for many great 20th Century satirical novels, but for my money it is the funniest and best.
A masterpiece, Parrot's, remains the best translation!, 12 May 2007
I have lost my copy of this book, and in searching for a possible replacement I found there is a newer translation in "print on demand" form. However whilst being praised as better and more accurate than Parrot's version (this one) it looses the sense of the original as a rendition of Czech in comprehensible English. Parrot however whilst perhaps toning down some of the swearing seems to capture the Czech idioms with that halting quality I experienced when traveling through Bohemia and Moravia with a good Czech to English translator during the 1980's. Indeed it is only when you come across a bad translator who managed to make Czech sound exactly like Shakespeare (for archaic expressions and flow) that you realize just how hard it is to translate Czech to English or for that matter any other language. The problem lies in the use of idioms rather than direct speech and in order to render the language comprehensibly in English the idioms have to be reinterpreted. Parrot does this brilliantly in my view. This is a must read book for anyone especially those interested in military activity during WW1, the remnants of Austro-Hungarian rule and the history of Bohemia & Moravia. Highly enjoyable by the way!
Unsteady but great book, 15 Apr 2007
I don't know much about novels but I recognise when I read one like Svejk. I must also admit that style of book is unsteady, I believe that is because author didn't get the book quite ready before he died. Some parts of the book could need some editing but when author is dead it's better not to touch the text. So if you feel that there's a bit boring twenty pages go a head read on good stuff might burst you to laugh on a very next page.
hilarious and poignant, 20 Jan 2007
Svejk's journey from dog breeder to orderly in a Czech regiment sent to fight on the Galician front against the Russians in WW1 gives us a fascinating and humanising glimpse into a world usually only accessed via grainy black and white snaps. The wicked humour Hasek employs transcends the 90 year time gap and lays bare the moral bankruptcy of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The author's many delirious ravings, while lengthening the book enormously, are often unspeakably funny and inspired!
In the spirit of Hasek., 19 Jan 2007
Cecil Parrott, the translator of this edition, was the British Ambassador to Czechoslavakia for a time in the 60s and is also the author of The Bad Bohemian, a biography of Jaroslav Hasek. The previous reviewer complained of basic grammatical errors in the translation and about a slapdash approach which obscured plot details. These faults, if they are to be considered faults, are more true to the original serialised novel than previous translations of Svejk have allowed for.
The last translation of Svejk published by Penguin was translated by Paul Selver and had been abridged to such an extent that it was two-thirds the length of the Parrott version. Also, much of the coarse language of Hasek was removed altering the spirit of the novel. For instance, when the secret police agent arrests Palivec, in Selver's version he says,
'I've got you for saying that the flies left their trademark on the Emperor'.
Parrott's translation, truer to the original, reads;
' "But what am I going for?" moaned Palivec. Bretschneider smiled and said triumphantly: "Because you said the flies shitted on His Imperial Majesty." '
As Hasek says in his epilogue to part I; 'in these two volumes the soldiers and civilian population will go on talking and acting as they do in real life.'
Which, presumably, means including not only their swearing but their grammatical errors.
Concerning the problem with translation, the following is a paraphrase of Parrott's introduction. 'There is no authorised text to base a translation on. Hasek only saw the first and second editions of Svejk during his lifetime and their is no certainty that even these texts represent what he wrote or approved as only a part of the manuscript has been preserved. Hasek cared little about what he had written once he sent it off to the printer. There are two groups of texts, the texts published before the second world war and the texts published from the 50s onwards which were revised in orthography, grammar and syntax. (Parrott) drew on both groups of texts, chosing whichever version seemed clearer and more consistent. Svejk and many of the other characters in the book use what is called common Czech. This cannot adequately be rendered in English, since the only equivalent would be dialect or bad English. (Parrott) felt dialect would create the wrong atmosphere as any British dialect would be associated with people and conditions of a very different kind.
It is characteristic of Svejk's way of telling a story that he does not bother about syntax. This of course is an indication of his mentality and a part of his character, but it is also a reflection of the author's disregard of grammatical rules.'
As for lapses in the plot, the very nature of the novel is plotless, episodic, elliptical, meandering. Hasek was writing to make money and spun out the book to increase his earnings, digressing as he saw fit.
The Good Soldier Svejk is an anarchic masterpiece. And, if you're a literary train-spotter, compare it with Catch 22 and Slaughterhouse 5 to see where Heller and Vonnegut 'borrowed' from...
PHENOMENAL, FANTASTIC, INSERT YOUR OWN SUPERLATIVE, 28 Sep 2008
Having read this, it makes me regret either giving almost any other book a five-star rating or the fact that it's not possible to give six stars in special circumstances. And these are special circumstances. All those books that have the five stars, they deserve them: they're great reads. But this, this is just exceptional. A masterpiece.
Yesterday, I wasn't reading a book. I was spending time in the company of a great person or great people. The style is so personal and intimate. Not only in the sense that another's soul is being laid bare but also in the sense of your own life stories being revealed to you. Very, very moving and very, very thought-provoking.
If you are at all interested in the condition of being human, human identity or you just enjoy meeting great characters in a book, it is impossible for me to rate this highly enough.
Time to stop now before I gush too much.
Laugh, cry, forget, transcend, 29 Jun 2007
Seven stories intertwined by intent, fantasy and romance. Excellent and lean prose; epigrammatic, well-footed, lofty but not imposing.
If people didn't neurotically exhaust themselves reading crap they'd read Milan Kundera.
you wont forget this, 06 Jan 2003
This book was the best accident that ever happened to me. I picked it up because it was cheap and it stopped me reading Dean Koontz which can only be a good thing! It has a fractured, post modern narrative which leaps back and forth and the author brings into question who is writing and what is being created. The language he uses is amazing at times for it's sheer simplicity. The words seem to dance around each other - quite literally at times as in the chapter where the whole world begins to dance in a ring which floats off into the sky. Kundera owes a lot to Kafka although he seems to have a more optimistic outlook on life. He also reminds me at times of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as strange things begin to happen yet none of the characters notice anything strange! He creates fantastically interesting theories and perfect sentances. Read it.
Once again Kundera at his "Unbearable" best!, 15 Mar 2001
Simply brilliant! Kundera once again keeps you quite literally captivated for 312 pages and then has you just asking for more.This is most certainly one of his best and altough not probably as well known as "Immortality" or "The unbearable lightness of being" it certainly earns the right to sit up there alongside them as a Kundera classic.Once again all the usual Kundera hallmarks are there,his passion for Prague and his country,the brilliantly interwinning themes and characters and most importantly the pain that inspires his writing.This truly is a most thought-provoking read and once again just leaves you wanting more!
Its a book about laughter and forgetting..., 17 Dec 2000
Milan Kundera always lives up to the titles. Unbearable lightness of being was quite satisfyingly about the unbearable lightness of being. The book of Laughter and Forgetting similarly lives up to its title and far surpasses it... The range which Kundera covers is incredible. He jumps quite easily from political to philosophical, to insightful and to intensly moving passages with ease.
Oh, for the good old days of Austro-Hungary, 17 Sep 2008
It is always interesting when a book from the past - Embers was written in 1942 - gets rediscovered or translated for the first time. A similar thing happened recently with the excellent Suite Française. This is a very different kind of book, though, a nostalgic evocation of the colourful, pluralistic days (for some) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The story is simple: an aging General sits in his castle in the Carpathian Mountains awaiting his inseparable boyhood friend who he had not seen for forty-one years. However, he had not seen him because his friend had fled after a devastating act of betrayal which had left their lives shattered. Everything is arranged to reproduce the exact conditions, even the meals, of their final meeting before the incident. A profound meditation on the nature of friendship and personal loyalty, much of the novel revolves around a moving monologue by the General to his almost silent friend recounting their lives together and the reality of their duty to each other. Of course, a woman is involved. The evening gets darker and the wine flows as freely as the words. Strongly elegiac in nature Embers is a beautifully written story, rather slow in pace but short enough to overcome that, and is of considerable historical interest. It does, though, contain rather anachronistic notions of pride and duty, and the quaint view that the strongest bond between two human beings is that between two men. Plato may have believed that but I don't. And whatever betrayal someone had committed against me I could never have afforded the luxury of sitting around in my castle and moping about it for forty years. Like most people, I would have to have got a job! Strongly recommended, though.
Great novel by Hungary's Sandor Marai, 10 Aug 2008
This is the third book I have read from Hungarian author Sandor Marai, after Eszther's Inheritance and Divorce in Buda (neither of which is translated into English, as far as I know). Embers is better than Divorce but not as good as Eszther. By this point, one can find certain common elements in Marai's books: middle-aged or elderly individuals remembering bitterly their past, long flashbacks, encounters after a very long time, long winded speeches, a pessimistic view of life. Embers tells the tale of two friends, who met when they were teenagers at the military academy of the Austro-Hungarian empire. One, named Henrik, came from a rich family; the other, named Konrad, came from a poor one. For many years, they were inseparable. Now (the action takes place in 1940) they are 75 years old, and they haven't met in 41 years, after Konrad fled after a mysterious hunt with Henrik. He went on to live on the Orient for 40 years. What cause him to flee? And did Henrik's wife, the late Krisztina, has anything to do with his decision? After receiving Konrad in his country house in the Hungarian Carpathians, the hidden truth slowly starts to emerge. A great book, though perhaps not a masterpiece (Marai's writing style can be a bit too verbose and heavy going at times).
get to the point., 17 Mar 2008
What would you say to your old best friend if he had suddenly disappeared, and then had re-appeared forty-odd years later?
Probably 'Where the hell did YOU go?' and then you'd let him answer.
The premise to this book is great, it's got a nice moody cover, great reviews, - but the truth is this story just goes on and on, discussing just about everything except where the hell Konrad has been or why he vanished. In fact the poor guy barely gets a word in, and must be sitting there in the candlelight wishing he'd never returned.
Even on the odd occasion that Konrad gets the chance, even an invitation to explain himself, the General butts in and waffles on for pages and pages about anything and everything all over again. And in the end you sense that Konrad has just given up and is looking at his watch.
Certainly the story is well written, but no-one talks like this, nor would treat a guest so rudely. Hardly suprising that this old bore has lived alone all these years. He wouldn't have many friends, and certainly no repeat visitors.
I finished the book out of grim determination and a strange curiosity as to whether poor Konrad would finally get a word in. But now it's over I don't feel I can even hand this book into a second hand store as it would be unkind to pass this tedious but well written yawn into someone else's life.
I would suggest that anyone looking for the passion and emotional charge that this book pretends to offer would be far better off to consider 'Love in the Time of Cholera' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I know you'll read all those other reviews again and ignore mine, but you will only have yourself to blame. I'm sure Konrad had a great story to tell, but we'll never know, he slipped out quietly while the General was pontificating into the air.
Facts are not the whole truth, 18 Dec 2007
This short novel tackles fundamental problems like truth, the real nature of man or the importance of human relations.
For Sándor Márai, `facts are only part of the truth.' `Sometimes facts are no more than pitiful consequences because guilt does not reside in our acts but in the intentions that give rise to our acts.'
However, motives are mostly hidden in the human night, `filled with the crouching forms of dreams, desires, vanities, self-interest, mad love, envy and the thirst for revenge.'
Therefore, we have to accept betrayal and disloyalty. `Why should we expect better of the world, when it teems with unconscious desires and their all-too-deliberate consequences ... young men are bayoneting the hands of young men of other nations and all laws and conventions have been voided?'
Or, there are the debilitating pressures of parents on their children; `never a journey, never a summer outing, because I must be made into the masterpiece that they failed to achieve.'
For Sándor Márai, however, there is one passion one should not lose: self-respect, `the implacable foundation of humanity'. Losing self-respect equals opening the flood of inhuman evil and unstoppable self-destruction.
The long confession of one of the protagonists of this book turns into an in depth reflection on mankind and the world we live in.
Not to be missed.
why did Konrad return?, 09 Nov 2007
Beautifully written, atmospheric, especially at the beginning but disappointing ultimately. I've read quite a few reviews and agree with criticisms, such as, why was his relationship with Nini not developed further? I found her a fascinating character and expected to hear more about her? Why were Konrad's and Krisztina's characters not developed more fully? The general is a pompous old bore who browbeats everyone into doing what he wants, including somehow getting his long estranged friend to come to dinner and listen to his conclusions on why he had left all those years ago and his philosophizing about an event which really should pale in comparison with other events in his life (he survived wars! without killing anyone also he admits which is unbelievable and can only be attributed to his rank I suppose). His wife is now over thirty years dead and he has had every opportunity to move on but instead chooses to dwell in bitterness and obsess over the past. This I suppose is a result of the strict code by which life was lived under the culture of the Austro-Hungarian empire where propriety and 'honour' mattered more than the well being of the individual. But Konrad's motivation for returning is weak. Is it some kind of honour thing? He wants to look his former friend in the eye before he dies? allow him to slap his face? literally? metaphorically? this is unclear but perhaps within the framework of the culture at the time is taken for granted as understood by the reader. does the wrong that Konrad and Krisztina committed against him allow him the moral authority to monopolize their interaction? is he permitted to 'try' his former friend in this way? what happened to the statute of limitations on these things. I just found it so unlikely that Konrad would permit this. I can only attribute it to the honour code among soldiers or his own feelings of guilt at the betrayal of his friend. or maybe it was all just a fantasy of the Generals. But I suspect I am judging it outside the cultural/political framework in which it was written. Still, for beauty, atmosphere, detail and the raising of universal themes about life such as dualities between nature/civlization, instinct/reason, male/female, life/death it is definitely worth reading.
Immortality, 22 Oct 2007
Milan Kundera states it best midway through his novel: 'Dramatic tension is the real curse of the novel, because it transforms everything, even the most beautiful pages, even the most surprising scenes and observations merely into steps leading to the final resolution, in which the meaning of everything that preceded it is concentrated'.
Indeed, the novel Immortality is not concerned with plot or with structure, with character descriptions or sweeping narrative. No, Kundera has set himself both an easier and a more challenging task than that. His novel deals with themes; the theme of immortality and the theme of eroticism form the bulk of the work, but there are many lesser themes throughout. Take away the themes and you have taken away Kundera's novel. He eschews plot, dramatically and emphatically, because to rely on plot means that 'The novel is consumed in the fire of its own tension like a bale of straw.'
The novel is both framed and included within the story of Milan Kundera's life during the writing of the novel, Immortality. This could be a confusing device, but it is not. He is at a swimming pool where he is watching an older woman as she swims. He is entranced by her 'touchingly comic manner', but his attention is soon diverted. But then, as she leaves, his eye catches her again, and she waves to another man. 'It was as if she were playfully tossing a brightly coloured ball to her lover.'
From this gesture, Kundera creates a character, Agnes. She uses the gesture at times, understanding the impact it has on males. Agnes' sister, Laura, adopts the gesture and perfects it, which means we now have two characters. Leisurely, Kundera adds more, rounding out Agnes' life by giving her a child, a husband, a feuding sister, an occupation.
But the message of the novel is not told through Agnes' trials and tribulations. While she is arguably unhappy in her life and wishes to escape to Switzerland, this detail is simply that - a fact in her life. What Kundera is more concerned with is the machinations of her erotic and emotional existence and through that, the erotic and emotional interplay between male and female. He does not limit himself to Agnes and her husband, rather he seeks to speak on behalf of every woman and every husband, every seducer and every nervous girl, every amorous lover and every bewitched man.
Kundera uses a thought, an action, an episode in his character's life to digress philosophically on any number of topics. 'Imagology' is a significant topic, which recurs throughout the novel. Kundera considers that ideology has passed, to be replaced with imagology, or the importance of images and symbols above all else. Politicians speak in repetitive, emotionally charged statements designed purely to be picked up by reporters as sound bites. Millions of pictures of Lenin exist throughout the Communist world, not because he is loved necessarily, but because the image of Lenin is important beyond the ideology.
Recurrence is a strong theme of the work. The wave described on the first page of the novel comes back through every aspect of the novel. Metaphors and descriptive tropes return again and again, to further enhance and explain a philosophical digression or a nuance of character.
Immortality, or the concept of existing beyond your own death, is dealt with through the sub-story of Goethe and Bettina. At first it seems a shocking digression - Just when the novel seems to be developing a plot, we are taken back to 1811, to the time of Goethe and the Weimar Republic. Goethe, an author known for his constant striving (and achievement of) literary immortality, is confronted with a much younger woman, Bettina, who seeks her own assured immortality through association with Goethe. Over forty pages or so, Kundera recounts their lives together, and then over the rest of the novel he uses the themes and ideas put forth in that section to further explain the narrative whole. In 1811, Bettina's glasses were struck from her face by Goethe's jilted wife; in the 1980s, Agnes fingertips forced her sister's dark glasses from her face to shatter on the ground.
At times, Kundera inserts himself into the text. He interacts with the major characters of the novel, and is surprised when they do not act the way he has envisioned in his text. His friend, Professor Avenarius, is having an affair with one of the characters, which Kundera did not expect. These meta-textual of post-modern touches do not take away from the novel, rather they enhance the over-arching theme of the work, which is that of philosophical and erotic problems and discussion, not that of character cohesion or plot strength.
We need not believe the characters as people, which allows Kundera to focus explicitly on the areas of their created lives that matter most to him. Part 6, near the very end of the novel, deals with an entirely new character, Rubens, and his realisation that his erotic adventures are over. Kundera is discussing with Avenarius, 'I am really looking forward to Part Six. A completely new character will enter the novel. And at the end of that part he will disappear without a trace. He causes nothing and leaves no effects...Part Six will be a novel within a novel, as well as the saddest story I have ever written.'
Rubens sphere of interaction with the other characters in the novel is extremely low, but his story is thematically adjacent and complimentary to the previous sections of the novel. We do not need to know about him as a character, but his existence as a theme is necessary for the completion and culmination of the novel as a thematic work. That Rubens and Agnes have a mild connection in no way cheapens the force of Part Six which is, as Kundera says, very sad.
Kundera's work is one that reads fast, but should be savoured slowly. There are large, important themes at work here, just as Kundera introduces large, important philosophical questions into his text. 'If a reader skips a single sentence of my novel he won't be able to understand it', we are told, and that is true. Savour and enjoy the philosophy and the wit. Learn from the erotic truths. Kundera is in his element. He shines.
Genious..., 08 Jul 2007
Previous reviews have deconstructed this novel both fairly and accurately. When I was 18, I read this book (now 36). I re-read it when 21. It remains the only book I have read twice. I did not read before this book. I have not stopped reading since
It is the best example of a novel portraying moral philosophy you will find. Its message and attitude is conveyed through a fairly simple love story in essence. I do not read love stories as a rule.
The best book I have ever read. Up to you!
Outstanding - A Genius' Best Work, 07 May 2004
I'll start by saying that I consider Milan Kundera to be the world's greatest living writer, and then mention that I believe this is his finest work, encompassing everything that it great about his writing. The basic plot is about two sisters Agnes and Laura and their relationships with two radio broadcasters. But no one should read Kundera for the plot - there is always much more, and in this respect Immortality is no different to his earlier work. So we get sections about Goethe and Hemingway, and three hundred pages into the book a new character is introduced on whom the narrative is focalised almost until the end. And there is Kundera's constant authorial voice, which is where, for me, this novel's genius is derived. Kundera is a definite storyteller, in that he is always telling a story, and we are always aware that HE is telling it. And he tells it so deftly that he can bring to life highly realistic characters, and at the same time dismiss their reality. In Immortality, his presence is more clearly defined than ever, with numerous first person passages being included in which he describes meetings with his (presumably fictional) friend Professor Avenarius. This is where one of the most remarkable features of the novel appears. Kundera (as a character) talks with Avenarius about the progress of his novel (the very novel which we read this in), and describes the characters of the novel as living alongside Avenarius, and therefore, presumably Kundera himself. There are further connections; for example he describes listening to the radio station which his characters work on. You may well be thinking that I have misinterpreted a fairly standard first-person narration in which the narrator relates the lives of other characters. Perhaps I have. Perhaps Kundera has turned himself into a character. But if this is the case, then he certainly fooled me. The same wonderful authorial voice that can be found throughout his work is visible, and he even has the audacity at one point to give Avenarius (the character) a copy of one of his earlier novel's, Life is Elsewhere. The way in which he breaks down the barriers between fiction and reality like this, to my mind, where the genius of Immortality lies. Kundera transcends the boundaries of storytelling, and yet still tells a fantastic story. There is further greatness, such as the treatment of the main theme of immortality, and man's desire for it, but I have said enough, and there is too much to say about, and find within this incredible book. Immortality is Milan Kundera at his most Kunderaesque. So, if you don't like Kundera, I don't recommend it to you. If you haven't read any Kundera, I don't really recommend it either: start with The Unbearable Lightness of Being or The Book of Laughter and Forgetting and get used to his voice rather than being plunged into a combination of that voice and the rest of the novel. But if you haven't read any Kundera, then stop reading this and go and read some! For me (someone who, you may have surmised, likes Milan Kundera very much indeed), this is one of the greatest books ever written, and I would urge everybody to read it at some point.
Perhaps Kundera's last great novel, 18 Jul 2002
Although three novels have succeeded it, 'Immortality' is the last truly great Kundera novel, belonging not so much to this trilogy as to that represented by the earlier architectural masterpieces, 'The Book of Laughter and Forgetting' and 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being'. The earlier trilogy is characterised by various structural devices: 7 chapters, comprised of sections of contrasting lengths and styles. The novels in the latter trilogy ('Slowness' and 'Identity'; I speak somewhat unsurely of 'Ignorance', since the English translation has yet to appear) are comprised of 51 short chapters, characterised by a more homogeneous style. Artistically, the latter has shown a continual decline of Kundera's powers and use of 'polyphonic' techniques. The former trilogy, however, shows Kundera's genius for intellectual inquiry strengthening into the existential query that is 'Immortality'. Often frustrating elliptical, in 'Immortality' Kundera takes this quality to new heights, embodying it in the playful tyre-slashing intellectual Professor Avenarius. The central panel of this grotesque triptych depicts the vanity of man`s quest for the self, a labyrinthine search which Kundera roots both historically and as a condition of man's existence. The paradoxes that follow (in the first chapter we are told that a gesture is by its very nature 'more individual than an individual') reinforce Kundera's firm belief that the novelist's task is to ask questions, not to try and solve them. While these comments may also hold true of the novel's two predeccesors, I think that through examining these issues through the prism of man's 'longing for immortality', Kundera makes some of his most penetrating observations. I call for a toast to Kundera's most readable and intellectually exciting novel yet!
Immortal litterature!, 13 Jun 2002
Kunderas "Immortality" is a classic in more than one sense. First of all because of Kundera's classic intellectual style, second because of the timeless quality of this particular story.
I am very fond of most of Kundera's books, but I find this to be his best so far - the dialogues between Goethe and Hemmingway are nothing short of brilliant, and the whole ironic portrayal of life in the afterlife contests the very nature of fame.
The book is an experience - do not miss the opportunity.
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Customer Reviews
The power of ideas..., 23 Jul 2008
Milan Kundera has the uncommon ability to twist and manipulate words to their full value and extract from them meaning that is not at first obvious. Throughout `The Unbearable Lightness of Being', he plays a game of word association that enables the reader to view his philosophical concepts in an entirely new light. At the crux of this game lies the debate between `weight' and `lightness' both of which can be considered `good' or `bad', if such crude divisions exist. However behind the metaphysical, Kundera delves into the very real emotions of his characters that he describes as being `born' of particular circumstances and ideas. Most effectively he captures the restlessness of Tereza whose `vertigo' forces her to constantly re-examine her life and what she seeks from it. Tomas is arguably the pivotal point of the novel, but Kundera creates all of his characters with incredible care. The time dedicated to each really pays off while at the same time Kundera slowly draws the reader into the philosophies of Nietzsche, Descartes and Parminides as well as his own conclusions about life and its mysteries.
`The Unbearable Lightness of Being' is utterly the best book I have read in a long, long time and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone, regardless of their taste in fiction. It is powerful, moving and thought-provoking and if I could give it any more than five stars I would. Please read this book!
Definitely needs to be read more than once., 26 Aug 2006
This is an unusual book, and well-worth reading just for its originality. I like what Kundera has done in using a novel as the basis for philosophical speculation. I'm not sure how much validity there is in his philosophy. I've read Russell's History of Modern Philosophy, and don't remember coming across anything in there about excrement being closely related to divinity! But whether or not Kundera's musings have any firm backing from respected philosophers is neither here nor there. Some of them seem to make sense, and all of them are entertaining.
On the down-side, because he has used the novel in this way, the story is not particularly exciting, and the characters are not especially well-developed, perhaps with the exception of Tomas, a man you have to admire for carrying the aroma of several women's groins in his hair! I like the fact that all of the chapters are short, though I don't mind long chapters if the narrative is gripping. It isn't in this book, though the final few chapters are very moving, even if providing a somewhat curious end to a book. I will certainly re-read this book at some point. It is a book one might need to read several times before fully grasping everything the writer has to say, and this is no bad thing.
Weird indeed..., 19 Jul 2006
... but weird is in no way bad. As a start, the story captures your attention from the very first page and the book is hard to put down. The plot itself is not really the central issue, but the thoughts that Kundera puts down whenever he thinks of something and thereby interrupts the thread of the plot. I wouldn't think it is a too "professional-philosophical" book. Kundera asks questions that I am sure cross any ordinary man's mind at some point in life. The way he attempts to answer them is very distinct in his own Kundera-way and opens our eyes to ways of thinking that might have never crossed our minds.
The characters are very real, natural and familiar. I like the comment of one of the other reviewers saying that we "love and hate them at the same time" - just as we basically love and hate everyone else around us simultaneously - including ourselves.
A must-must-must read! Not too "philosophical", believe me.. Rather comfortable and familar in a "weird" way. I would stick a , 28 Apr 2006
I would stick a "weird" label on it. I cannot say I disliked it completely, but I think it is indeed odd book. A few episodes of life from 4 main chars of the book. All of them unfaithful and the writer sort of supports men's desire to sleep with as many women as he can, while he also shows how tolerant a wife can be if she loves her husband.
What was this book about?
Love?
Life?
Politics?
Philosphy?
...no idea, and the end is quite abrupt.
The only character that I really liked was a dog, Karenin. A beautiful story with a deeper meaning, 11 Jan 2006
This book really lived up to the top reviews I had read before I bought it. The characters are strong, the emotions finely balanced, the discussion fascinating. I agree that it can be difficult in places, due to political and philosophical debate, but it's really worth it. This is not the type of novel that you will forget the next day.
My favourite book, 27 Sep 2008
The Good Soldier Svejk: and His Fortunes in the World War is my favourite book because it's central character is outwardly an imbecile but inwardly highly sophisticated. This literary vehicle is expertly used to illustrate the absurdity of the final years of the Austro-Hungarian empire through the medium of fine humour. The Good Soldier Svejk was the inspiration for many great 20th Century satirical novels, but for my money it is the funniest and best.
A masterpiece, Parrot's, remains the best translation!, 12 May 2007
I have lost my copy of this book, and in searching for a possible replacement I found there is a newer translation in "print on demand" form. However whilst being praised as better and more accurate than Parrot's version (this one) it looses the sense of the original as a rendition of Czech in comprehensible English. Parrot however whilst perhaps toning down some of the swearing seems to capture the Czech idioms with that halting quality I experienced when traveling through Bohemia and Moravia with a good Czech to English translator during the 1980's. Indeed it is only when you come across a bad translator who managed to make Czech sound exactly like Shakespeare (for archaic expressions and flow) that you realize just how hard it is to translate Czech to English or for that matter any other language. The problem lies in the use of idioms rather than direct speech and in order to render the language comprehensibly in English the idioms have to be reinterpreted. Parrot does this brilliantly in my view. This is a must read book for anyone especially those interested in military activity during WW1, the remnants of Austro-Hungarian rule and the history of Bohemia & Moravia. Highly enjoyable by the way!
Unsteady but great book, 15 Apr 2007
I don't know much about novels but I recognise when I read one like Svejk. I must also admit that style of book is unsteady, I believe that is because author didn't get the book quite ready before he died. Some parts of the book could need some editing but when author is dead it's better not to touch the text. So if you feel that there's a bit boring twenty pages go a head read on good stuff might burst you to laugh on a very next page.
hilarious and poignant, 20 Jan 2007
Svejk's journey from dog breeder to orderly in a Czech regiment sent to fight on the Galician front against the Russians in WW1 gives us a fascinating and humanising glimpse into a world usually only accessed via grainy black and white snaps. The wicked humour Hasek employs transcends the 90 year time gap and lays bare the moral bankruptcy of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The author's many delirious ravings, while lengthening the book enormously, are often unspeakably funny and inspired!
In the spirit of Hasek., 19 Jan 2007
Cecil Parrott, the translator of this edition, was the British Ambassador to Czechoslavakia for a time in the 60s and is also the author of The Bad Bohemian, a biography of Jaroslav Hasek. The previous reviewer complained of basic grammatical errors in the translation and about a slapdash approach which obscured plot details. These faults, if they are to be considered faults, are more true to the original serialised novel than previous translations of Svejk have allowed for.
The last translation of Svejk published by Penguin was translated by Paul Selver and had been abridged to such an extent that it was two-thirds the length of the Parrott version. Also, much of the coarse language of Hasek was removed altering the spirit of the novel. For instance, when the secret police agent arrests Palivec, in Selver's version he says,
'I've got you for saying that the flies left their trademark on the Emperor'.
Parrott's translation, truer to the original, reads;
' "But what am I going for?" moaned Palivec. Bretschneider smiled and said triumphantly: "Because you said the flies shitted on His Imperial Majesty." '
As Hasek says in his epilogue to part I; 'in these two volumes the soldiers and civilian population will go on talking and acting as they do in real life.'
Which, presumably, means including not only their swearing but their grammatical errors.
Concerning the problem with translation, the following is a paraphrase of Parrott's introduction. 'There is no authorised text to base a translation on. Hasek only saw the first and second editions of Svejk during his lifetime and their is no certainty that even these texts represent what he wrote or approved as only a part of the manuscript has been preserved. Hasek cared little about what he had written once he sent it off to the printer. There are two groups of texts, the texts published before the second world war and the texts published from the 50s onwards which were revised in orthography, grammar and syntax. (Parrott) drew on both groups of texts, chosing whichever version seemed clearer and more consistent. Svejk and many of the other characters in the book use what is called common Czech. This cannot adequately be rendered in English, since the only equivalent would be dialect or bad English. (Parrott) felt dialect would create the wrong atmosphere as any British dialect would be associated with people and conditions of a very different kind.
It is characteristic of Svejk's way of telling a story that he does not bother about syntax. This of course is an indication of his mentality and a part of his character, but it is also a reflection of the author's disregard of grammatical rules.'
As for lapses in the plot, the very nature of the novel is plotless, episodic, elliptical, meandering. Hasek was writing to make money and spun out the book to increase his earnings, digressing as he saw fit.
The Good Soldier Svejk is an anarchic masterpiece. And, if you're a literary train-spotter, compare it with Catch 22 and Slaughterhouse 5 to see where Heller and Vonnegut 'borrowed' from...
PHENOMENAL, FANTASTIC, INSERT YOUR OWN SUPERLATIVE, 28 Sep 2008
Having read this, it makes me regret either giving almost any other book a five | | |