TRAVELS WITH KAREL CAPEK

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 160, 1 April 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

TRAVELS WITH KAREL CAPEK

A Peaceful Narrative “Travels in tlie North,” by Karel Capek ( London : Allen and Unwin). When this book appeared in New Zealand for the first time, the author was dead. Mr. Capel; played a leading part during the trouble iu Czechoslovakia last September. His death occurred before lie reached the age of fifty. The world of literature Ims lost one of its most attractive and charming personalities. This particular book suffers somewhat from its translation. It. seems to lie literally exact, and, as a result, what might be easy-flowing writing in the language of tlie author, may yet lie in (he English language stilted and somewhat jumpy.

In one sense this is tt travel book through Hie Scandinavian countries of Hemnark, Sweden ami Norway. Ou tlie oilier baud, there is lit He attempt to descend to particulars with regard to any township. Each place visited certainly receives a few sentences, which, through tlie skill of Hie author, give some impression of tlie locality. There is, however, no, or very little, description of the main physical features. Perhaps it is. at worst, a matter of treatment, ami the author is entitled to assume that his reader will have enough perception to see the place splashed before him. To add to tlie tale, and uo doubt to help to fill in tlie gaps in the literature, tlie author lias cleverly pen-sketched numerous places, and objects in those places, and these sketches are on most of the pages. They really do not seem to help much, and the sketches are rather more disturbing in the reading of this peaceful book than otherwise. The best part of the hook deals with his trip in a small steamer up the coast of Norway to the northernmost place. One travels leisurely, touching into'the fjords, skirting nearby islands, and generally having a very pleasant and inexpensive holiday. It is essentially a quiet holiday, though the author’s peace was disturbed by a noisy American missionary whose friendly familiarity was out of keeping witli the surroundings. He wanted to run the ship, and, what with his slappings on the back, his shoutings, and his noisy intrusions into every little party, he escapes, in the book, with very kindly malice on the part of the author. One gets from this book a fair impression of the desolate life of the codfishers, who, hardy folk that they are, endure the icy winds and storms of the Arctic to eke out a poor living in the cod industry. Tlie people of Norway seem to be a peaceful, unimaginative, and slow-moving people. He brings his tale to an end, and in the last pages appears this passage:—

So you see the end of the journey; and the circle rounds off. From the sweet Danish land all saturated with milk like a phik udder, right up to the edge of the world, where nothing else grows hut a handful of tiny Arctic plants among the stones; and over the Arctic tundra to the green pastures, and dark forests;-we have combed this stretch of the journey with the open palm of the hand, as when a man goes by a cornfield, and lets the ripening ears slip between his fingers; in Norrland. no doubt you would have to bend a good deal to stroke the oats. And here in Skane the circle closes; again already the gods of herds and of fruit bless the traveller as they did on the other side of the Oresund.

During the journey there were no ■newspapers, there was so much human love; and the first sign of hate was when he returned to Europe and read of the Spanish War. Certainly, a peaceful, contemplative piece of writing-