Nine Fairy Tales: And One More Thrown in for Good Measure

by Josef Čapek, Karel Čapek,  

Book Overview

Karel Čapek, author of the acclaimed War with the Newts, is one of the great Czechoslovak writers of the twentieth century. These fairy tales bear Čapek's combination of the fantastic and the satirical, offering fairies, elves, and talking animals alongside references to detectives, secret police agents, luxury automobiles, and Hollywood starlets. Filled with the delight of language, dazzling wordplay, a sense of absurdity about...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081011464X
• ISBN13: 9780810114647
• Release Date: October 1996
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Length: 253 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

Classic Czech author

A must read for Czechophiles. Karel Capek is one of the great Czech writers. It is great to have an English translation of these fairy tales. The political oppression of the time is subtly reflected in his character descriptions. Thought provoking while still amusing.

Charming, delightful, beyond comparison.

I'm assuming this is the book I think it is (don't have my old English copy in front of me), but if it includes the story of a dog named Jim, get it. This amazing story (which also explains how dogs asked God to create Man) is at turns folklike, charming, sweet, and transcendent. Capek is an author who could not be published today: for how could you classify him? Only one way: as himself, Karel Capek.