The Gardener's Year

by Karel Čapek

Book Overview

From the internationally acclaimed Czech writer Karel Capek comes this beautifully written and marvelously apt account of the trials and tribulations of the gardener's life. First published in Prague in 1929, The Gardener's Year combines a richly comic portrait of life in the garden, narrated month by month, with a series of delightful illustrations by the author's older brother and collaborator, Josef. Capek's gardeners--all too human, despite their...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375759484
• ISBN13: 9780375759482
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Random House Group
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Gardener's Gentle Humor

I bought this book for a friend, as a gift upon her achieving Master Gardener certification. I expected something a bit different, a bit more practical, perhaps, but after leafing through the pages, I read the entire book before I gave it to her. Written by the man known to most of us as a European author of the early 20th century on more weighty subjects, this man's witty description of himself as the sometimes manic master of his small domestic garden both amuses and somehow comforts those of us who share his enthusiasm. I laughed long and loudly at Capek's description of what ensued from his planting of the seeds from just one packet, at the many dozens of little plants in little pots, all of which became bigger and bigger, and had to be taken outdoors, finally, to find places in a tiny garden patch. This is a short book, with short chapters, just right for picking up in odd moments during the winter months when we are only dreaming about the coming of gardening season once again.

Lowdown on Gardeners

This is the best book about gardeners I know of. With grace and humor, this book delightfully explores the glories and foibles of serious amateur gardeners. Any garden nut who reads this book without laughing and almost crying over this inciteful outing of the gardener's soul is a callous person indeed.

The best-ever essays on the GARDENER and Garden!

I'll make this short. These essays are simply the best ever about the act of gardening and the gardeners themselves. Anyone who has ever tended a garden for any length of time will immediately relate to the situations and the people in these writings. They are humorous as well as accurate. You'll laugh at yourself and your friends through these wonderfull essays.