The Questionnaire (Gruša novel)

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The Questionnaire
1978 edition
AuthorJiří Gruša
Original titleDotazník
TranslatorPeter Kussi
CountryCzech Republic
GenreNovel
Published1978 Sixty-Eight Publishers
1982 Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages278 pp

The Questionnaire is the second novel of Czech writer and politician Jiří Gruša. When it was originally written in 1974, and a limited number of samizdat copies were distributed. It was formally published in 1978.[1] The English translation followed in 1982. Shortly after its limited release, typed by hand, Gruša was imprisoned on the charge of 'initiating disorder'.[2] Following widespread protest and media attention, Gruša was released after serving two months in prison. It is Gruša's most well-known and most widely translated novel.

Plot summary[edit]

Jan Chrysostom Kepka is asked to complete a questionnaire for a job application, required by the faceless bureaucrat Comrade Pavlenda. What follows is an ironic answer: a full and surreal account of Jan's life and times.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Censorship: A World Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. 2001. pp. 995–996. ISBN 9781136798641. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. ^ Banerjee, Maria Němcová (Spring 1983). "Reviewed Work: The Questionnaire, or Prayer for a Town and a Friend by Jiří Gruša, Peter Kussi". World Literature Today. 57 (2): 314. doi:10.2307/40138038. JSTOR 40138038.