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5.0étoiles sur 5
As Pythons would have said: "The satire", Mai 9 2004
For those of you who are not familiar with czech writing, I recommend that you start with authors like Kundera (which bears no resemblance with Capek), Sotola (master of the written word), and Skvorecky (this one you'll like).
After reading those books, you will have an insight in czech prose, and you will thank me for mentioning it :)
Okay, now serious... This book is about war with the newts (that is what the title says, is it), but it wouldn't be much of a book if it were only that... If you like to think trough major philosophical, and ethical problems, considering Politics, Policy, Antrophology, education, sexualness this is the book you should read.
Problems beforementioned are integrated in the hillarious story with such marvel that often you'll stop and wonder, asking yourself: "Where was I thinking, what was I doing"... It's funny, It's intellignet, it's very serious once you give your thought to it... what else do you need... Great introduction to czech prose
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3.0étoiles sur 5
tough call, Fév 9 2004
I've been going back and forth between three and four stars with this one for some time now. I want to be fair, but also want to avoid being too "top-heavy" or overly-positive with everything. That said, I must finally admit that while this is certainly a good book, I don't think it will become one of my favorites. Three stars, I think, is my final decision, and I mean that positively - it's a book deserving fully of three stars. Capek was certainly important to science fiction, an accomplished writer, and possessing of generous wit. I found myself laughing out loud from time to time despite the overly serious undertones contained throughout. The middle section dragged a bit with its profuse and long footnotes, which grew irritating after a time. I know Capek was being as "authentic" as possible with a work of fiction, but I myself am glad that it has not been much emulated since. There are a few obvious religious parallels and of course political messages. But at the heart, it is an enjoyable science fiction story. I consider three stars to be a good rating for a good book, and I encourage skeptical readers to push their way through it.
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4.0étoiles sur 5
The Newts Today, Mars 21 2003
War With the Newts is a Swiftian social satire from the Czech science fiction writer Karl Capek. Gulliver's Travels uses humanlike animals to represent or critique human traits. The principal difference is that here, the Newts come to us. Newts are intelligent, amphibious salamanders that Capek, in what he probably doesn't realize is a digression into mysticism, calls Nature's other attempt to achieve the pinnacle of evolution. After being discovered on the verge of extinction by a pearl-hunting sea captain, the Newts quickly develop an advanced civilization in the context of twentieth century Earth.
The Newts serve two allegorical purposes for Capek. They represent the worst of humanity, and they bring out the worst in humanity. At first, they are treated to typical ugly colonialism and have visited upon them every atrocity and indignity one could imagine humanity inflicting on a weaker race. We also see Capek's political views, at least to the extent that he thinks all the major political movements of his time were just silly. His disdain for communism explains the fifty-year gap between first and second printing of the novel. Nazism is presented as buffoonish, capitalism as plain evil. As we look more closely at the Newts, however, they become menacing in their racial lack of interest in art, science, recreation, or anything beyond the rudimentary religion. By the end of the book, it is clear that we are rooting for humanity as the war comes. Man does not live by bread alone, but the Newts live solely on oysters.
I had thought to read Newts as a diatribe against war, starting it as we begin our unlawful invasion. But pacifism isn't the point of the book; if there's a moral, it's that we must treat each other decently and responsibly. But the last chapter could have been written by an Iraq hawk, as the world community mulishly refuses to unite against the growing menace of the Newts, to its ultimate doom. Newts is a Frankenstein story, like R.U.R, and a good one. But ultimately its target audience should have been WWII Germans, and today its trenchant pronouncements on the dangers of technology seem poignantly obsolete...too late.
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