Dobrý voják Švejk
The Good Soldier Švejk
The world's most famous Czech novel: a Prague dog dealer in the Austro-Hungarian army whose obedient idiocy — real or brilliantly feigned — dismantles the machinery of war.
You will practice: Long literary sentences linked with čímž and jehož, perfective passives (byl přeložen, je odveden), and the instrumental of means (svým humorem, s mečem v ruce).
Words to know
Skim these before you read — they carry the story. Tap the star to add one to your saved words.
- románnovel
- spisovatelwriter
- čtenářreader
- hrdinahero
- válkawar
- rozkazorder, command
- nadřízenýsuperior (person)
- šílenstvímadness
- doslovnostliteral-mindedness
- byrokraciebureaucracy
- historkaanecdote, (tall) story
- poručíklieutenant
- předstíratto pretend, to feign
- zbraňweapon
- spravedlnostjustice
Did you get it?
4 quick questions — no grades, just a comprehension check.
1. Who wrote The Good Soldier Švejk?
2. What are the two ways Švejk can be interpreted?
3. Why did the book remain unfinished?
4. What does the Czech term „švejkování“ describe?
Too hard? Pick an easier text in the Czech reading library. Understanding most of a text without translations is the goal — struggling through is not.