An amusing collection of short stories, by Karel Čapek, author of R.U.R. and War With the Newts. These are gently satirical takes on figures from history and literature – Prometheus, Alexander the Great, the Nativity, Hamlet, and so forth. A fun read. ( )

histórias com personagens retirados da realidade ou de relatos diversos, em situações inusitadas mas que dizem sobre o que no humano é relegado às margens da história, com muita ironia.

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entre março de 2009 e março de 2010 participei de um grupo em são paulo, que procurava articular a criação de uma lei de fomento à música, naquela mesma cidade, moldada na lei de fomento à dança, da mesma. eu e vanderlei lucentini alimentamos um blogue na época.

existe um maravilhoso conto de karel čapek, chamado a iconoclastia, em que o amante da arte procópio pede ao pintor e padre influente nicéforo que intervenha ao grande sínodo e assim ao imperador para que a arte seja salva dos iconoclastas, que gritam “morte aos idólatras” e pedem a retirada da arte dos espaços públicos. nicéforo, entretanto, parece mais interessado em que mosaicos de uma infame escola de creta, essa arte moderna e deturpada, sejam por fim destruídos. ( )

Czech author Karel Čapek continues to impress me as I traipse through his oeuvre. Published in newspapers between 1920 and 1938, the year of his death, the short stories here are imaginative takes on stories or figures from classic literature, the Bible, or history. He’s playful and light, but usually writes with a point, making his readers think about current events or the nature of mankind. He was a voice of reason and humanity during a frightening time in Europe, with fascism and hatred on the rise, and while he never preaches, it’s easy to see why he was wanted by the Gestapo. One can’t help but see parallels to some of today’s politics, as well, and Čapek’s central observations, including the wisdom of kindness, are timeless. ( )

The great Czech writer Karel Capek is best known for his sci fi works – RUR, the play where the term ‘robot’ first appeared, and War of the Newts, a novel pitting mankind against intelligent amphibians – but his writings were impressively varied. His work includes a book on gardening, an idiosyncratic biography of T.G. Masaryk, travel writing and short stories in several genres. I greatly enjoyed Capek’s Tales from Two Pockets, a collection of short mysteries. I don’t know if I would have been impressed had I only read one or two but the whole collection is rather impressive in its sheer variety and the humorous but affectionate way Capek exposes his characters’ foibles and faults. Despite the fact that the occasional murder pops up, I always remember the book with a smile. Capek’s Apocryphal Stories has similar pleasures.

The stories are casual and funny; they usually have one interesting or humorous idea and end after a few pages. Capek’s conversational style emphasizes that people have been the same throughout history and will always be complaining, nostalgic, prejudiced and a little self-delusional. The day-to-day irritations are more important to his characters than the history that they are living. This is especially true in the Apocryphal Tales. Capek didn’t intend for the stories to be a collection and they were written between 1920 and 1938. However, one would never know that when reading them straight through. This book organizes them by time period and Capek touches on well-known moments in Western history (and literature). There are stories about the Greeks and Romans, Jesus Christ and biblical characters, Attila and Napoleon, Don Juan and characters from Shakespeare. Usually we see the story from a side character or a different angle. Alexander the Great has a whole string of justifications for his conquests. A baker is appalled at Jesus’ miracle with the loaves; Lazarus lives in fear of dying again after being brought back to life. Hamlet struggles over his desire to be both a poet and an actor and a priest tells the real story of Romeo and Juliet.

The other set of stories are the Would-Be Tales and they are set in Capek’s present day. These stories feature an ersatz libertine, an out of control lawsuit, a man who can fly, and a solution to the problem of being the first guest to arrive at a party. Some of the Apocryphal Tales can be seen as a comment on the political events of the day – the stories include vicious mobs, blind nationalism and unquestioning prejudices. Still, Capek’s warmth and humor make the stories less depressing than they might be otherwise. Two from the Would-Be Tales also touch on the atmosphere in 1938. The Anonymous Letter has a journalist who receives vicious hate mail (much like Capek was at the time) accidentally bumps into one of his persecutors. The man is polite but insignificant, at odds with all his detailed threats. The journalist feels surprise and finally pity and I thought of internet trolls who are probably for the most part normal people except for the online hate that they spew. In Ten Centavos, ostensibly set in Lisbon, Manoel Varga isn’t concerned about the new regime but suddenly finds himself accused of corrupting the nation and spreading subversive ideas due to his support of adult education. Capek has a happy ending for that one as Varga finds out that not everyone shuns him. Overall, very enjoyable stories. ( )

its a literary masturbatory-piece. ( )