Customer Reviews

LETTERS FROM ENGLAND

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In 1924, Czech novelist-playwright Karel Capek (R.U.R., The War of the Newts) visited England and sent his impressions back to his homeland. Much of what he writes is about the culture shock he experiences, but he describes it so humorously (I think Mark Twain is a reasonable comparison) that it's easy to miss his concerns about the results of modernization.

Wit abounds: he desribes block after block of houses that hue to the same fashions as if they were all under a curse, followed by another set of blocks seemingly under a different curse, following another fashion. He expresses amazement at how the bus drivers know where to turn (if you've ever visited London, you'll remember that street signs can be difficult to find), and how streets are not where anything happens, because they are only to -use- in order to rush home.

But at the same time, there is a bit of horror about England and its modernization. To us, 75 years later, the horror is not so obviously apparent, but it would have been to a Czech reader in 1925. And to us, even if we -do- look at it with Czech eyes circa 1925, we might drop into complacency, because so much of what Capek has written about still holds true and we might say "gee at least it hasn't gotten worse." But if Capek were to visit today, he might merely write a -longer- book, adding to what's already here.

But it -is- an enjoyable book now, and was even then, as it went through several printings. Just, when you read it, try not to get swept up by his wit. This is not The Beverly Hillbillies, but an acerbic commentary on 20th century British life.