Letters from England by Karel Čapek

Letters from England Reviews

• 
  NeDa

  Красив е параходът, който тръби и пори водата с високата си гръд и бълва пушек от дебелите си комини; красив е, когато чезне зад мощния гръб на водите, влачейки подире си воал от дим; красива е далнината и целта, човече, ти, който заминаваш, застанал на корабния нос. Красива е платноходката, която се плъзга по вълните, красиво е да заминаваш и пристигаш. Родино, ти, която нямаш море, не е ли стеснен кръгозорът ти и не ти ли липсва шумът на далечините? Да, да, но тътнещи пространства има и около главите ни; ако не може да се плува, може поне да се мисли, да се пори с крилата на духа широкия и високия свят; казвам ви, има още достатъчно място за експедиции и за големи параходи. Да, необходимо е непрестанно да заминаваме; морето е навсякъде, където има смелост.
• 
  Miroslav Juráň

  Jazykem, kterým už (bohužel) nikdo nepíše, o Anglii, co už (nejspíš) není, spisovatel, který se u nás už (určitě) nenarodí.
• 
  Rhys

  An extremely charming travel book by the excellent Czech writer. Capek writes about the eccentricities of British life in the 1920s. He deplores British food, disparages the rain and the traffic and criticises the insularity; but he praises the countryside and some of the quaint traditions... Capek was a very humourous writer but also a very humane one. He always supports the underdog. He also has some genuinely profound things to say on nature, aesthetics and imperialism. His sketches are superb and his wistfulness is moving.
• 
  Marcel Uhrin

  Nie celkom rozumiem, ako mi tento veselý a vážny skvost mohol unikať. Teda rozumiem, našiel sa až teraz v haldách kníh pri upratovaní do novej knižnice. Britký (nie britský) jazyk, humor, skvelé postrehy, hra so slovami, do hlavy udrie nahliadnutie kolonializmu ale aj paradoxov anglického života, však opis anglickej kuchyne mi pripomenul konferenciu v Southmaptone, … No, nie je nič lepšie na začiatok košických osamelostí po dlhých houmefisoch ako takáto knižka.
• 
  Tyler Jones

  I was charmed by this book; but is it enough to simply say I was charmed? Should I not try to explain why I was charmed? Ok. You asked for it.
  
  First Impression: A wise man once said nothing.
  Early in the book, Capek accidentally (so he says) wonders into Hyde Park on a Sunday and witnesses the spectacle of soapbox orators and debaters. Although to a man like Capek this must have seemed like a heavenly vision of equality and freedom, he does not wax rhapsodic, choosing instead to draw only a simple humorous sketch. As he puts it; "I might make this a starting point for admirable reflections on democracy, the English character, and the need for faith and other things; but I would rather leave the whole occurrence in its natural beauty." Capek's refusal to state his own opinions on all he sees allows the reader to feel the strangeness of being in a foreign land, and to draw their own conclusions. This "drawing in" creates a great deal of the charm of the book.
  
  Second Impression: The difference between manners and caring.
  Also charming is Capek's obvious love of humanity, even when humans act in ways he finds bewildering. There is a knowing kindness behind these words that is not simple minded, although he at times he adopts a naive tone in order to make a joke. Capek, above all, detects the good in other people, and this shines through almost every page.
  
  Third Impression: The man has opinions after all!
  Capek, that sly dog, lulled us in with his innocent observer act. Boy, he sure fooled me! Mid-way through the book he starts making all these funny, opinionated remarks. We, gullible readers, have been so lulled by the gentle tone of the book do not notice the shift, and since up to this point we have been left to draw our own conclusions, we think Capek's ideas are really our ideas. My how smart and witty we have suddenly become! I take back that first impression, please disregard it.
  
  Fourth Impression: An unfortunate joke about children and a machine gun.
  I believe it reflects badly on our own time that one can no longer make jokes like this. It was funny when he said it back in the 1920's because it was so unimaginable (using a machine gun to clear one's way through crowds of children) that it could not possibly be seen as anything but a joke; and so utterly impossible that no one would, at the time, even say it was in bad taste. Unfortunately we live in a world were such acts are all too easily imagined, and such a joke would be considered very tasteless. I do not think badly about Capek, but feel sorry for how the world has changed.
  
  Fifth Impression: I love these crazy sentences.
  The run-on, joyous, whimsical, semi-colon filled sentence constructions may be the most charming aspect of the book. Each is a delight to read. Here is Capek on the isle of Skye; "It is beautiful and poverty-stricken; and the native huts have such a prehistoric look that they might have been built by the late Picts, concerning whom, as is known, there is nothing known." There is an even more rapturously good description of the harbour in Plymouth, but I don't have the book close at hand so you'll just have to go read it for yourself. Page 160, I think.
  
  Sixth Impression; It's over? Already?
  It's like when you are driving in the city and dealing with all the other idiot drivers and then you stumble on a beautiful piece of classical music on the radio that transports you, for an all too brief time, into a cleaner and better world. Then the piece ends and you are back in the traffic with all the other idiots.
  
  
• 
  Cristian Necșulescu

  "A London street is just a type of trough which life flows through in order to get home. People don't live in the streets, gaze, speak, stand or sit; the streets are just for passing through. Here the street isn't the most interesting saloon where you encounter a thousand spectacles or have a thousand adventures speak to you, a saloon where people whistle or fight, make a racket, flirt, rest, write poetry or philosophise, relieve themselves and enjoy life and make jokes and discuss politics and cluster in pairs, in threes, in families, in crowds or in revolutions. In our country, in Italy and in France a street is a sort of great pub or public gardens, a village green, a meeting place, threshold. Here it is something which doesn't belong to anyone and doesn't bring anyone closer to other people. Here one doesn't meet people and things; here one only passes them by."
  
  (So true).
  
  "The Continent is noisier, less disciplined, dirtier, more rabid, craftier, more passionate, more convivial, more amorous, hedonistic, vivacious, coarse, garrulous, unruly and somehow less perfect. Please, give me a ticket straight to the Continent." :)))
• 
  l

  Charmingly satirical anecdotes/observations re: the English, English institutions etc.
  
  'The man sitting opposite you in the train will anger you for two hours by not regarding you as worthy of a glance; suddenly he gets up and hands you your bag which you are unable to reach. Here the people always manage to help each other, but they never have anything to say to each other, except about the weather. [...] It is perhaps through sheer taciturnity that the English swallow half of every word and then the second half they somehow squash; so it is difficult to understand them. I used to travel every day to Ladbroke Grove; the conductor would come and I would say: 'Ledbruk Grrov.' '...?? Eh?' 'Ledbhuk Ghov!' '....??? Eh?' 'Hevhuv Hev!' 'Aa, Hevhuv Hov!' The conductor would rejoice and give me a ticket to Ladbroke Grove. I shall never learn this as long as I live.'
  
  I was also amused by this description of George Bernard Shaw: 'He is immensely tall, thin and straight; he looks half like God and half like a very malicious satyr'
• 
  Romana

  Velmi jednoduché, rychlé a hlavně milé čtení. Ve sbírce fejetonů, které na sebe navazují, Čapek popisuje své cestovatelské zážitky z Britských ostrovů. Postupně čtenáře seznamuje s lidmy, které potkal, jídly, která ochutnal, místy která navštívil atp.
  Původně jsem po knize sáhla v rámci povinné četby na zkoušku z české literatury, ale vědět, jak zajímavá je, tak po ní sáhnu o něco dřív.
• 
  Kristína

  som značne torn medzi 4 a 5 hviezdičkami, úvod, kde sa venuje Londýnu, ma absolútne uchvátil a dal mi motiváciu prečítať aj všetky kapitoly o nekonečnej prírode. na tomto krásne vidno, ako veľmi mestský človek som. záver to ale zase vylepšil, posledná kapitola to celé pekne zhrnula, a aj keď by som s niektorými vyjadreniami nesúhlasila, veľmi dobré čítanie.
• 
  Кремена Михайлова

  „Накрая влакът се въвира между някакви странни къщи; сто абсолютно еднакви; после следва друга улица с еднакви къщи; и пак, и отново. Добиваш впечатление за някакво трескаво повторение.“
  
  Съвършена наслада – което за мен означава смях (и рисунките на самия Чапек са чудни). В случая на гърба на Англия, sorry. Но все пак – преди 100 години.
  
  Неочаквано попадение – след незабравимите „Разкази от единия джоб“, „Разкази от другия джоб“ и „Книга апокрифи“. Хич не понасям авторите като се напъват да са смешни, обикновено си личи. Но при Карел Чапек това е естествен талант.
  
  Някои от главите: Английският парк, Лондонските улици, Traffic, Ийст Енд, Country, Clubs, Туристът разглежда други музеи и др. (Има и за Шотландия – много интересно; и за Уелс и Ирландия малко – много смешно и за двете; Чапек имал и други книга за Холандия и Италия).
  
  Характеристиките на Лондон и хората му – уж преди 100 години, но според мен и като сега.
  
  „Най-голямото предимство на британците е тяхното островитянство. Но островитянството е в същото време и най-големият им недостатък.“
  
  „… Англия почти по всичко се различава от континента, като се започне от тревата и бръшляна и се свърши с университета и парламента.“
  
  Паралелите за автора разбира се произхождат от сравненията с родната Чехия, която се оказва близка до нас.
  
  „По улиците не се живее, не се гледа, не се говори, не се стои, нито пък се седи; из улиците само се пробягва. Тук улицата не е най-интересното заведение, където пред вас ще се разкрият хиляди гледки и ще развълнуват сърцето ви хиляди прик��ючения; заведение, където хората свирят с уста или се бият, шумят, кокетничат, почиват си, пиша стихове или философстват, ходят по нужда и се радват на живота, и разправят вицове или бистрят политиката, и се обединяват в двойки, тройки, семейства, демонстрации или революции.“
  
  Да, наистина, спомням си Прага, макар и от по-късните произведения на Бохумил Храбал и моите още по-късни посещения. Бирарии, бирарии, танци, песни, вкусотии, излети… Не че няма pub-ове в Англия, но явно – друг е манталитетът…
  
  „…не е лошо да имаме и у нас такива места, където да се мълчи.”
  
  Не е пропуснат колониализмът:
  
  „Четиристотин милиона цветнокожи има в Британската империя; а на изложбата ѝ те са представени само от няколко рекламни чучела; от няколко жълти или кафяви панаирджийски търговци и от няколко антики, попаднали тук като че ли за куриоз и забавление. И аз не знам дали това е някакъв страшен упадък на цветните раси или пък страшното мълчание на четиристотинте милиона; и не зная даже кое от двете е по-ужасно.“
  
  Предишното ми прозрение за популярните забележителности по света съвпадна с описанието на Чапек. Наистина, когато попаднах пред Саграда фамилия, ми беше трудно да повярвам, че съм там, че тя не е само картичка.
  
  „Пътешественикът остава изненадан най-много, когато в чужда страна намери това, за което стотици пъти е чел или което стотици пъти е виждал на картинка. Смаях, че, когато в Милано намерих Миланската катедрала, а в Рим – Колизеума. Впечатлението е свръхестествено, защото ��овек има усещането, че някога вече е бил тук или че вече някак го е преживял, насън или по подобен начин. Смайва те обстоятелството, че в Холандия наистина има вятърни мелници и канали и че на лондонската улица Странд хората са наистина толкова много, че чак ти става лошо.“
  
  Ще допълня и нещо за Уелс, но сега - пак за англичаните според Чапек. :)
  
  „Друго нещо, което прави впечатление на пътешественика в Англия, са английските тревни площи – не само зелени и гъсти като никъде другаде по света, но по тях е разрешено и да се ходи свободно. Предполагам, че Англия е станала земя на свободата за това, защото там е разрешено да се гази по тревните площи. Може би затова в историята на Англия е имало толкова малко революции, защото британците са могли да задоволяват непрекъснато инстинкта си за свобода само с ходене по поляните. Не смятам за изключено дори и това, че Британия е започнала да владее вълните, защото си е представяла морето като голяма затревена площ, по която всеки е свободен да се отправя в каквато посока си иска.“
  
  „Срещал съм пътуващи англичани например в Севиля, в Джирдженти или в Перуджа; където и да се намират, те носят със себе си, в своите навици и възгледи късче от Англия, така както бедуинът носи със себе си молитвеното килимче, и не са в състояние да излязат от нея. Имам смътното подозрение, че по този начин е възникнала Британската империя: някакъв британец е слязъл на непознат бряг и там е основал игрището за голф, английската неделя, търговията, топлата вода и къщата със зидана камина. Навсякъде, където се установи англичанинът, възниква английски остров. Пътуващите англичани са амбулантни английски острови. Понякога това важи и за британската политика, но това е, както казва мистър Киплинг, друг разказ.“
  
• 
  Matej Laš

  "Když jsem se poněkud naučil jazyku těch ostrovanů, shledal jsem, že obyčejně neříkají: "prší" nebo "dvě a dvě jsou čtyři", ale: "soudím, že prší", "spíše bych myslel, že dvakrát dvě jsou čtyři", a podobně. Za mňa zatiaľ najvydarenejší Čapkopis. Veľmi tomu napomáhajú aj sprievodné autorovi kresby, ktoré dotvárajú atmosféru a sú veľmi vtipnými pozorovacími nástrojmi. Navyše z textu cítiť Čapkovu lásku k Anglicku, takže je text veľmi čítavý, ale nebojí sa aj zabrdnúť. Páčila sa mi kapitolka o fyziognómii typických Angličanov. "Je nejdemokratičtější ze všech národů a přitom má v úctě nejstarší přežitky aristokracie."
• 
  Keruonedz

  Stromy jsou snad to nejkrásnější v Anglii. Také ovšem louky a strážnici, ale hlavně stromy, krásně plecité, staré, rozložité, volné, ctihodné a převeliké stromy.
  
  Londýnská ulice je jen takové koryto, kterým život teče, aby už byl doma. Na ulicích se nežije, nekouká, nemluví, nestojí ani nesedí; ulicemi se jenom probíhá.
  
  Říkám Vám, je to strašné; strašný je relativismus času a prostoru, ale strašnější je relativismus kultury a dějin; nikde za námi ani před námi není bodu klidu, ideálu, hotovosti a dokonalosti člověka; neboť je všude a nikde, a každé místo v prostoru a v čase, kde člověk postavil své dílo, je nepřekročitelné. A já už ani nevím, je-li portrét od Rembrandta dokonalejší než taneční maska ze Zlatého pobřeží; viděl jsem příliš mnoho.
  
  Je tu všecko, co lze zpeněžit, kupovat a prodávat; od hrsti zrní po salónní vagón, od kusu uhlí po kožišinu z modrých lišek. Duše má, co by sis chtěla koupit z těchto pokladů světa? Nic, nic vlastně; chtěla bych být maličká a stát zase v krámě starého Prouzy v Úpici, vyvalovat oči na černý perník, pepř, zázvor, vanilku a bobkové listí a myslet si, to že jsou všechny poklady světa a všechny vůně Arábie a všechno koření dalekých zemí, žasnout, čichat a pak si běžet číst Vernův román o končinách divných, dalekých a vzácných... Neboť já, hloupá duše, jsem si je představovala jinak.
  
  "Mizerných několik hodin mám odtud do Irska, ale řeknete, mám pro nic a za nic zahodit strašné tajemství, kterým je pro mne tato země obestřena? I budu se povždy s láskou a radostí dívat na mapu Irska: Hle, země, z níž jsem roušky nesňal."
• 
  James Klagge

  I first read this in 2006, then decided to re-read for our trip to England. Anything by Čapek is worth reading, but this was also relevant. Čapek really did not care for England or the English--but he made a nice characterization out of it. I read several passages aloud for Kathy and we laughed over them. Despite the fact that these were written over 90 years ago, they still ring true.
  One point he makes is that while we might think of the English (especially in the time of the Empire) as global, they are actually the opposite. They go everywhere, but they take their setting with them and don't engage much in the local cultures. (That is also true of the US people.) Čapek is horrified by the huge swaths of ugly urban poverty in East London, Liverpool and Glasgow, and the contrast with the rich upper-class. This has not changed, and it has spread around the world.
  Čapek makes many comparisons with his own people and small country. It is clear where his heart lies.
• 
  Gift

  Karla Čapka jsem neměla v ruce od základní školy. Pokud jsem od té doby narazila na některou z jeho povídek, byla to čistá náhoda a rozhodně ne má zásluha či touha po vzdělání. O to víc jsem byla zvědavá na jeho Anglické listy, na které jsem neměla vůbec žádná očekávání.
  
  Kdo by to byl řekl, že se mi do ruky dostane přenosná zásobárna dobré nálady? Anglické listy jsou ideální kniha do MHD. Je to příjemná sbírka kratinkých postřehů, která místy pobaví a jindy donutí k zamyšlení. Čtenář se krásně ztratí v Čapkově milém humoru, překrásném jazyce a pobaví se nad jeho roztomilým uměleckým uměním v podobě drobných skic, což byla má nejoblíbenější část knihy.
  
  Anglické listy jsou výborným příkladem toho, že v jednoduchosti je krása a že kritizovat a lichotit se dá i s úctou a respektem.
  
• 
  Bill Lawrence

  A joyful read with some timeless observations from the great Czech writer. Predates many other tours of England, most famously J B Priestley, but contrary to its title also covers Scotland (at his most poetic), Wales and very dismissively (but mostly due to recommendation of his English friends) Ireland. In fact the latter provides an interesting commentary on the 'Irish Question' as seen from the 1920s. There are many comments on the English that seem, 90 years on, no less relevant. Worth finding and reading, for it is a quick and pleasurable read.
• 
  Álex

  Ágil y preñado de humor, y con el toque entrañable de Capek. Me fascina (me fascina y me da mucha envidia, claro) cómo es capaz de escribir sobre la esencia profunda de Inglaterra y Escocia y hacer reír al mismo tiempo.
• 
  Malcolm

  Čapek has an astute eye leading to elegant epistles from 1930s England: a kind of travelogue about habits. As a recent immigrant, I loved it.
• 
  Adam Stevenson

  Karel Čapek was a Czech writer who is probably most famous in the English world for introducing it to the word ‘robot’. I’ve had a book of his on my shelf for a while, an intriguing collection of short stories which take heroic and biblical themes in weird directions. So, when I found a copy of ‘Letters from England’ for half price, I picked it up, delighted by a 1947 clipping from a Radio Times reviewing a TV edition of Čapek’s robot play that was tucked inside.
  
  I started to read it on the train home and was quickly won over by the tone. It’s a travel book on England (Scotland and a bit of Wales) and was original serialised in a Czech paper. As usual, the English enjoy foreigners laughing at them (see the success of George Mikes’s ‘How to Be Alien’) so it was quickly translated for the market.
  
  The first section in London is my favourite. He takes issue with the British habit of mass-producing streets; laughing at how there are patches of houses with bay-windows, others with columns, more with four steps out front and others with three. He was fun theories about how ancient oak trees and leather armchairs are responsible for England’s conservatism. He complains about being a fleck in the mass-transit and the difficulty of crossing a road.
  
  My favourite part of the book is when he stumbles into Speaker’s Corner. Since I first heard of the place, I was entranced by it. One of the pieces I wrote for my A-levels was an imaginary transcript of a speech there. When I first moved to London, I spent many of my Sundays there, loving the energy and nuttiness of the place. It was wonderful how it is described in the book, essentially the same as it was when I went there. He takes the image of a group of ranting people and turns it into something almost transcendent.
  
  When he leaves London the oomph leaves the text. He likes the country, he’s fond of sheep and he’s not so funny when he’s talking about the things he’s fond of. That’s a problem with the Scottish section also. Čapek seems to adore Scotland, to have been completely won by its romanticism and bleak beauty. As a result it’s not all that funny either. His Wales section was better as he has fun with the Welsh language and his Irish section was all about how no-one on the mainland could be bothered to go there.
  
  There’s not a lot to this book, it’s fun, easy to read and has some delightfully shonky illustrations. I had fun with it but not much else. George Mikes is far spikier and enjoyable.
• 
  Katarína Šipulová

  "Když jsem se poněkud naučil jazyku těch ostrovanů, shledal jsem, že obyčejně neříkají ‚prší‘ nebo ‚dvě a dvě jsou čtyři‘, ale ‚soudím, že prší‘, ‚spíše bych myslel, že dvakrát dvě jsou čtyři‘ a podobně. Je to, jako by stále a vědomě ponechávali druhým volnost být jiného mínění. Všiml jsem si, že tam je dokonce každému volno běhat po trávníku.“
  
  "To vše jsou jiné mušle, vypocené jinou božskou a nutnou hravostí; to vše vydal ze sebe plž nahý a měkký, třesoucí se tvořivým šílenstvím. Nádherná věcičko, netsuké Japanu či východní tkanino, kdybych tě mohl mít doma, čím bys mi byla! Lidským tajemstvím, projevem člověka, řečí
  cizí a spanilou. Ale v tomto strašlivém a nezměrném nahromadění už není jednotlivců, ani osobních rukou, ani dějin; jest jenom šílená příroda, živočišná tvořivost, fantastická hojnost krásných a podivných mušlí vylovených z oceánu bez času. I buďtež jako příroda; tvořte, tvořte věci
  podivné, krásné, rýhované či točené, pestré i průsvitné; čím hojněji, divněji a čistotněji budete tvořiti, budete bližší přírodě nebo snad Bohu. Veliká jest příroda."
• 
  Mila

  During his tour of Britain in 1924, Čapek sketched his impressions in a set of lively and whimsical illustrated vignettes .
  What interests him is not History or data but people and environment: the silent gentlemen reading newspapers in their club, the speakers in Hyde Park, the old trees or the vast green lawns. He also pursues his own literary pilgrimage, having a guess at where Stevenson’s Hispaniola set sail in Bristol, contemplating the same lake as Worsworth in Grasmere and being disappointed not to find any trace of Sherlock Holmes in Baker Street.
  
  What makes those letters so truly engaging is the persona of Čapek with his candid, almost child-like voice. A foreigner from a small nascent nation, genuinely amazed to explore the center of a centuries-old Empire.
• 
  Rostislav Chytil

  Zajímavý pohled na Anglii před druhou světovou válkou. Některé situace a pocity mi vyvolaly vzpomínky na mou návštěvu tohoto ostrovního státu, některé už asi dnes neplatí. Ale vše popsáno velmi zajímavě, a i přes složitější češtinu, která už se té dnešní často ani nepodobá, velmi příjemné. Jak jsem si přečetl, původně tyto fejetony vznikaly jako sloupky pro Lidové noviny. No to musela být něco, číst si o Anglii v novinách, a tak ji objevovat. Kdyby chudák pan Čapek věděl, co se dnes v novinách píše a kdo konkrétně ty Lidové vlastní.
• 
  Algiersa

  4 ⭐️
  Four decent stars, It has been a pleasant introspection into the 1920’s England, but otherwise (from the artistic perspective) quite insipid - that is by no means meant as an insult; although we cannot label this piece as “poetic beauties of England”, but rather as “my diarised trip into England” - and if that was the sole purpose of the book, then the job had been done brilliantly.
  Needless to say that the final rating had also been altered by the author’s affection for Cambridge, rather than for Oxford, and that is, to be mild, unpardonable.
• 
  Nick Grammos

  Clarity is the word I always think of when I read Capek. Clarity of thought, sentence, image. Everything he wrote seemed to come with such lucidity and economy of language. I always want to know whether this is a quirk of translation into English of 20thC European writers, or the outcome of a view of literary efforts of those same writers. As though clarity or lucidity were the highest form to aspire to.
• 
  Fernando Pestana da Costa

  This book contains Čapek's impressions of his travels in England and Scotland (in spite of its title...). Accompanied, as always in his travel notes, by his own sketches, this is delightful book, both funny and full of serious insights. Splendid!
• 
  Helena Mašátová

  he's one of the biggest writer of 20th century...his talent of describing the whole life in England is breath taking
• 
  kristi

  2.5
• 
  Lysergius

  These are absolutely spot on. Capek spears the English on the point of his charming prose. Well worth a read.
• 
  Jan

  3.5*