The Man Without a Transit Pass: And Other Tales

by Jaroslav Hašek, Dustin Stalnaker (translator)

Gathering work from across Jaroslav Hašek’s brief but prolific career, this collection showcases the outrageous wit and biting social commentary that made him the most popular Czech writer of all time. Much like his beloved novel The Good Soldier Švejk, these sixteen tales—previously unavailable in English—are populated with unforgettable various cranks, conmen, and secret geniuses. The Man Without a Transit Pass further solidifies Hašek’s place as one of the 20th century’s greatest satirists.

150 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 6, 2024

About the author

Jaroslav Hašek was a Czech humorist, satirist, writer and anarchist best known for his novel The Good Soldier Švejk (Czech: Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války), an unfinished collection of farcical incidents about a soldier in World War I and a satire on the ineptitude of authority figures, which has been translated into sixty languages. He also wrote some 1,500 short stories. He was a journalist, bohemian, and practical joker.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED IT!!! This was so refreshing to read and a very enjoyable introduction to Hašek, I am definitely going to find and read his other works after this. I think I am being sucked into the literary world of eastern/central european satire but I don’t mind at all. . .

[Varsha Ananth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is funny and witty. The translation was in an unusual style and took a bit of getting accustomed to. Wonderful read, nonetheless, proving human emotions and actions are pretty predictable and commonplace across time and space. Still very relevant!

[Tom K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Humbly report, this is a collection of sixteen easy, diverting short stories. It's great for travel because the book is small and the writing is not demanding. As the author does in his magnum opus The Good Soldier Švejk, so here he lampoons the institutions, bureaucracies, and mores of his Czech corner of Austria-Hungary.

My favorites were "Vodka of the Wood" and "A Guest in the House is a God in the House." The rest I didn't find that funny or charming.

"The Man without a Transit Pass," "Saving the Suicidal," "Saved," and "Justice Prevails" are quintessentially Hašekean bureaucracy parodies reminiscent of the misadventures in Catch-22.