The Red Commissar

Jaroslav Hasek is best known for his satirical masterpiece The Good Soldier Svejk. That has been described as 'Perhaps the funniest novel ever written.' Although his life was short and chaotic, Hasek did however write more as this volume tellingly reveals. In his preface, Cecil Parrott, translator and biographer of Hasek, crisply defines its purpose.. 'All the world has heard of Svejk, but few are familiar with the countless other characters Hasek created in his stories and sketches, which together with his feuilletons and articles are though to number some twelve hundred. The best of these deserve to be made available to the Western public and are included in this volume.' The range is wide. There is a selection from his Bugulma stories (Hasek as Bolshevik and Red Commissar), some early Svejk stories, reminiscences of Hasek's apprenticeship days, and the hilariously funny speeches made by Hasek when promoting his political 'Party of Moderate Progress within the bounds of the Law'.

Cecil Parrott, translator, biographer and unrivalled authority on Jaroslav Hasek (1883-1923), describes him succinctly: 'Truant, rebel, vagabond, anarchist, play-actor, practical joker, bohemian (and Bohemian), alcoholic, traitor to the Czech legion, Bolshevik and bigamist.' He was also a satirical writer of genius, best known for The Good Soldier Svejk, but, as The Red Commissar (reissued in Faber Finds) reveals, dazzling in other formats as well: feuilletons, sketches, short stories and satirical cameos.