The Good Soldier

I finished reading the Good Soldier Svjiek recently and enjoyed much of what the story had to offer. While Eastern Europeans are all familiar with the story, I dare say most Westerners are not. It is a story of an unfortunate and unwilling Czech soldier drafted into the First World War For most of the story he follows orders to the best of his ability and to the letter of the instruction, only to have very amusing and unintended consequences. With the exception of anything from Kafka, it is the literature Czech’s are most proud of and the story is celebrated in Prague and bars and pubs throughout the Czech Republic. It was an important influence for Joseph Heller’s Catch 22, for you Westerners who need a reference point.
Similar to the Mystery of Edwin Drood, the author died prior to finishing his vision of where the story or characters will go, so the reader is empowered to visualize his or her own ending. This attribute has contributed to the mystique of the story and fueled the popularity. Debating who Svjiek really was and what he stood for is the dominant pastime in Czech bars, replacing sports and politics. It is a lot of fun to read and experience the folklore yourself, Czech beer being the perfect enabler.
For those of us who have by design or not, wound up traveling the world doing our best to perform the tasks in front of us in new and strange environments, Svjieks’ adventure of unintended consequences is a pleasure. Just recognizing the successes or failures from what we do is so detached from the plan or intention, Svjiek is a brother traveler with a familiar tale and an end of our own making. What fun. If you have not read it, read it, especially if you are taking off for your first job overseas or just wondering how you got to where you are!