Remembering Jaroslav Hašek

The Prague-born Jaroslav Hašek, who wrote hundreds of short stories and features, is rightly considered one of the most significant Czech writers, humorists, satirists and journalists. He led a very turbulent life and travelled extensively throughout Europe. During his life, he had many adventures and chronicled many incredible stories, which he drew on for his writing. His crowning achievement was in the 1921 novel The Good Soldier Švejk. This brilliant work, which booksellers refused to sell officially because they considered it "vulgar, unintelligent and rude", was eventually translated into almost 60 languages. Hašek did not have time to finish the second part of the book nor to celebrate his 40th birthday. He died on 3 January 1923 in in Lipnice nad Sázavou in the Vysočina Region.