Karel 膶apek is one of the the most influential Czech writers of the 20th century. He wrote with intelligence and humour on a wide variety of subjects. His works are known for their interesting and precise descriptions of reality, and 膶apek is renowned for his excellent work with the Czech language. His play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) first popularized the word "robot".
As the publisher of the English translation this book, I'd like to explain its origins, so that it can be better understood. Capek wrote these 47 stories over the period of a year, one nearly each week, for a newspaper. They started out as fun stories, but soon turned into a unique project, the equivalent of drawings for his masterpiece, .
The other thing Capek was doing was writing detective stories each of which breaks at least one of the rules of a mystery. For example, the murderer is clear from the beginning, or no murder was committed. Some are not about murder at all, but about aspects of the detective story, such as justice.
My favorite story, "Footprints," is about the mystery of mystery, and how mystery relates to murder. What is especially amazing about this is that there was no mystery genre in Czech yet (the stories were written in 1929). But Capek was a big fan of British detective stories, especially Chesterton.
Capek was a cubist writer. Therefore, this book is all about points of view, multiple points of view and odd points of view, as is .
I hope this helps readers appreciate the author's achievement and the place of this book in his oeuvre.
膶apekove 鈥濸ripovijetke iz jednog i drugog d啪epa鈥� prvi put sam 膷itala davnih dana, u raskupusanom prijevodu iz 50-tih godina. Ve膰 tada su njegove pripovijetke na mene ostavile jak dojam, pa me osobito razveselila pojava novog hrvatskog izdanja (Petrine knjige). Iako je nedostatak sadr啪aja i popisa pripovijetki ozbiljna zamjerka ovom izdanju, prijevod je izvrstan, a naslovnica s panoramom Praga je i vi拧e nego privla膷na. Zbirka se sastoji od ukupno 48 kra膰ih pripovijesti, stilom bliskih 膶ehovljevim Humoreskama. Prvi dio donosi uglavnom krimi-zaplete ispod kojih se uvijek krije jo拧 ne拧to 鈥� neka op膰eljudska poruka, drugo vi膽enje situacije, drugi pogled prema likovima. 膶apek nikoga ne mrzi niti osu膽uje, taj njegov humani odnos prema vlastitim likovima jo拧 je jedna sli膷nost s 膶ehovom. A ako moram izdvojiti jednu od pripovijesti, neka to bude 鈥濸oku拧aj ubojstva鈥� , u kojoj potencijalna 啪rtva otkriva sasvim novi pogled na samog sebe i svoj 啪ivot. Drugi dio zbirke donosi pri膷e rahlo povezane okvirom 鈥� nekoliko ljudi se skupilo u dru拧tvu i me膽usobno razgovaraju. Ove su pri膷e vi拧e filozofskog karaktera, a u nekima od njih 膶apek ponovo (sli膷no kao i u genijalnom romanu 鈥濷bi膷an 啪ivot鈥�, kojeg pri啪eljkujem ugledati u hrvatskom prijevodu) iznosi svoju ideju o vi拧ezna膷nosti ljudske prirode, o 膷ovjekovim potencijalima, o tome kako je ne膷iji 啪ivot samo jedna od mnogobrojnih mogu膰nosti te osobe. Preporuka - obavezno 膷itati, polako i s u啪ivanjem!
" Eu cred c膬 punctele astea de vedere ar trebui l膬sate la curier, 卯n vestibul, odat膬 cu p膬l膬ria 葯i bastonul. Dac膬 la葯i un om cu un punct de vedere s膬 intre 卯ntr-o cas膬, po葲i s膬 fii sigur c膬 are s膬 fac膬 vreo stric膬ciune, ceva, 葯i c膬 卯n nici un caz n-are s膬 fie de acord cu ceilal葲i"
"S膬 v膬 spun ceva: acel ceva pe care-l numim via葲a noastr膬 nu-i tot ce am tr膬it 卯n realitate; e doar o selec葲ie. Ceea ce tr膬im noi reprezint膬 mai mult dec芒t e 卯n stare mintea noastr膬 s膬 cuprind膬. De aceea select膬m doar ceea ce ne convine 葯i alc膬tuim din asta un fel de nara葲iune simplificat膬. iar acestui produs 卯i zicem via葲a noastr膬"
" Mi-am revizuit via葲a, 葯i deodat膬 mi s-a p膬rut pustie 葯i lipsit膬 de sens. A葯 fi putut tr膬i cu totul altfel, m-am g芒ndit deodat膬....Era 卯n mine at芒ta entuziasm, spirit de aventur膬, dragoste, cavalerism, fantezie 葯i 卯ncredere, at芒tea lucruri ciudate 葯i de ne卯mbl芒nzit.... a葯 fi fost 卯n stare s膬 iubesc oamenii, s膬 beau cu ei, s膬-i 卯n葲eleg, nu mai 葯tiu nici eu de c芒te a葯 fi fost 卯n stare"
I translated this book into Turkish seven years ago and I could say practically no reader was interested. Having learned that Capek is a big fan of Chesterton's detective stories, I conclude though that the publishing house made an erudite decision by first making me translate Chesterton then Capek. There were some interesting stories questioning the essence of human curiosity for unsolved mysteries, the meaning of crime, the methods by which a plot unravels but there were several shortcomings on style and narration, I find.
Karel 膶apek is usually thought of as an early science fiction writer (1890-1938) but this short story collection deals more with contemporary misbehaviour. It is really two books (鈥淭ales from One Pocket鈥� and 鈥淭ales from the Other Pocket鈥�) put together in one volume. Published just before the author died, the stories are slightly dated and very European in flavor which add interest to this reader.
The stories deal both directly and tangentially with the world of police and crime. Of real interest to 膶apek is human emotions, human nature, human foibles, human weaknesses, human evil and how they come around at times to bite the butt of those that tempt fate. The main technique is playing on the irony and especially the basal hypocrisy of us all. He wields it like a scalpel so be ready for a few cuts, unless you are a perfect, flawless person.
A few minor bumps in the road: The main minorities in the Czech world seem to be Jews who 膶apek treats with some delicacy and some stereotyping, although stereotyping by some of the characters is rightly portrayed as a character flaw, and in one story, the Jewish doctor is the hero of the story. Women and gypsies are not treated well either. There are some subtle insights into Czech life and attitudes throughout.
The ability to speak Czech would have helped remembering a few of the names 鈥� I just did the best I could and carried on. Well worth it!! This is one of the few books I must reread as it is so deliciously effrontive to our human weaknesses, but so cleverly described and evolved in the progress of the stories, all with a European sense of irony and humor. I especially bring to your attention the last story 鈥� A Ordinary Murder 鈥� which contrasts the mass horror of war and the brutal murder of a little old lady and the differing emotions the two situations elicit. I have never been in battle but as a forensic anthropologist I covered about 200 cases and understand 膶apek鈥檚 take on viewing the sad little crumpled corpse.
My only question is 鈥� as good a writer as he is, why isn鈥檛 膶apek better known??
Delightful collection of 48 stories that could be roughly characterized as "mysteries". Some are as innocent as a man misplacing a letter, others as dark as a rampaging criminal who assassinates a half dozen police officers with a single devastating gunshot to the gut. Two of my favorites stories involve poetry, as in the only useful witness to a hit and run accident was an inebriated poet. The detective must deconstruct the poem he wrote about the event to search for clues to the culprit. At turns amusing and thought-provoking this book has left me determined to track down more works by Capek.
This is a great selection of stories from Karel 膶apek. It's a collection of mystery and detective stories. They are all quite interesting and make some interesting observations about human nature.