It was hard to pick a rating for Jaroslav Hasek's novel "The Good Soldier Svejk." I liked the concept of the book much more than its actual execution -- it quickly got too repetitive and even the amusing bits didn't really sing anymore.

The book follows Svejk, who is either an idiot or very good at playing one -- as he becomes a Czech soldier during World War I. There are about a zillion different Svejk antics in the book, that mostly end up the same way-- he nearly gets, jailed, committed or executed but someone believes he is just too dumb for words and therefore he is saved. Onto the next antic...

Hasek's point about the futility of war is amply illustrated and there is a good bit of humor in the story. Had it been given a good edit for length and content, I probably would have enjoyed it more.