The Good Soldier Svejk

By: Jaroslav Hasek

Narrated by: Sam Kelly, Adrian Lukis

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Christopher Reason of the satirical Czech novel by Jaroslav Hasek. This tale charts the exploits during the First World War of 'European Forrest Gump', Svejk, in his progress through the ranks of the Austro-Hungarian army. Good-natured and garrulous, Svejk becomes the Austrian army's most loyal Czech soldier when he is called up on the outbreak of the First World War - although his bumbling attempts to get to the front serve only to prevent him from reaching it. This story of a 'little man' caught in a vast bureaucratic machine combines dazzling wordplay and piercing satire to create a hilariously subversive depiction of the futility of war. Starring Sam Kelly as Svejk and Adrian Lukis as Lukas. Directed by Gary Brown.

Very good.

My dad recommended this to me since I'm a fan of history. I didn't expect it to be this good. Sometimes comedy and fiction have a way of presenting tragic events in a way we can more easily process. When seen as a commentary on the senseless nature of The "Great" War, this type of comedy is a good thing. It has the power to bring the message across to a wider public and this is a good thing.

Hilarious read

What an incredibly hilarious way to tell an anti-war story. Švejk kept me laughing the entire time, while also addressing the serious cost of WW1.

way fun

love this book already, but this is super fun. It cracked me up a bit more than expected.