Behind the Lines: Bugulma and Other Stories

“Behind the Lines is a special book. . . .  Hašek tackles the absurdity of the Soviet approach to Marxism, making fun of how quickly the Bolshevik revolution was corrupted by ignorant men thirsty for power and willing to commit unnecessary violence. . . . In Behind the Lines, it’s all a fraud, lies and betrayal, with war presented as a charade in which soldiers act out their role merely because they have no other way of earning a living, while civilian lives and precious resources are wasted like water. Although he was writing about an absurd, militarized society in the early twentieth century, Hašek pretty much nails contemporary society right on the head.”

Jaroslav Hasek is a Czech writer most famous for his wickedly funny, widely read yet incomplete novel "The Good Soldier Schweik," a series of absurdist vignettes about a recalcitrant WWI soldier. Hasek--in spite of a life of buffoonery and debauchery--was remarkably prolific. He wrote hundreds of short stories that all display both his extraordinary gift for satire and his profound distrust of authority. Here, in a new English translation, is a series of short stories based on Hasek's experiences as a Red Commissar in the Russian Civil War and his return to Czechoslovakia.First published in the "Prague Tribune," these nine stories are considered to be some of his best, and they provide delightful entertainment as well as important background and insight into "The Good Soldier Schweik." This collection by a writer some call the Bolshevik Mark Twain, is much more than a tool for understanding Hasek's better known novel; it is a significant work in its own right." Behind the Lines "focuses on the Russian town of Bugulma, and takes aim, with mordant wit, at the absurdities of a revolution. A hidden gem remarkable for its modern, ribald sense of humor, "Behind the Lines "is an enjoyable, fast-paced anthology of great literary and historical value.