The Questionnaire (Gruša novel)

For the 1951 novel by Ernst von Salomon, see The Questionnaire (von Salomon novel).

The Questionnaire

1978 edition
Author	Jiří Gruša
Original title	Dotazník
Translator	Peter Kussi
Genre	Novel
Published	1978 Sixty-Eight Publishers 1982 Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication place	Czech Republic
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	278 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

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

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.