1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

B. R. Bradbrook (essay date 1998)

SOURCE: "The Short Story Writer," in Karel Čapek: In Pursuit of Truth, Tolerance, and Trust, Sussex Academic Press, 1998, pp. 123-45.

[In the essay that follows, Bradbrook presents a comprehensive overview of Capek's short fiction, noting in particular the author's thoughts and motives regarding his stories.]

"Short story will always be one of the most attractive matters for an author, both in form and content."

"To write short stories you need good fortune or (and mainly) a good deal of realism. Literature which shirks realism will not be able to produce short stories." K. Č.

Čapek wrote his first collection of short stories between 1916 and 1917. His philosophical studies were still strongly echoing in his mind, but he appears free from the pretentious frivolities apparent in his early works. His health problem depressed him, as well...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. Oliver Elton (essay date 1939)
   2. George Gibian (essay date 1959)
   3. William E. Harkins (essay date 1962)
   4. Igor Hajek (review date 1975)
   5. Wilma Iggers (review date 1976)
   6. Veronika Heé (essay date 1976)
   7. Sergej Davydov (essay date 1982)
   8. Marina Warner (review date 1990)
   9. William Harkins (essay date 1992)
   10. Peter Steiner (essay date 1992)
   11. Bettina Drew (review date 1994)
   12. B. R. Bradbrook (essay date 1998)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright