Intimate Things

by Karel Čapek

This antiquarian volume contains Karel Čapek's delightful book - "Intimate Things". It is a series of short articles concerning a variety of unconnected subjects ranging from snow to dreams. This text makes for easy-going and entertaining reading, and would constitute a great addition to any collection. The chapters include: "On Literature", "Frost Flowers", "For Bookworms", "Snow", "On Dreams", "Maps", "Fires", "Melancholy", "A Plan Frustrated", "Cats in Spring", "Portents", "Forerunner of Spring", "Birds", "The Inner Voice", etcetera. Karel Čapek (1890 - 1938) was a twentieth century Czech author and playwright, famous for coining the term 'robot'. Many vintage texts such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive, and it is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now, in an affordable, high-quality, modern edition. It comes complete with a specially commissioned biography of the author.

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1925

About the author

Karel Čapek is one of the the most influential Czech writers of the 20th century. He wrote with intelligence and humour on a wide variety of subjects. His works are known for their interesting and precise descriptions of reality, and Čapek is renowned for his excellent work with the Czech language. His play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) first popularized the word "robot".

(Arabic: كارل تشابك) (Hebrew: קארל צ'אפק) (Japanese: 카렐 차페크) (Russian: Карел Чапек)

Reviews

[Kaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some great quotes about how "men" percieved "women" in 1936. My favorites are as follows:

"Women not only have a special inclination towards mystery but they produce it with astonishing fertility. I believe that if there were no women there would be ver few secrets in the world. Women and descretion belong together." -from the essay "Secrets"

"One can say that humour is an exclusively masculine a preserve as philosophy, military schience, and freemasonry. Let the psychologists explain it ab ovo or ab ovario; the fact is that the nature of man is fonder of cracking a joke, more fun-loving and uproarious, than the nature of woman." -from the essay "Which is the merrier?"

The essay "Woman and the Professions" is the best yet.
"Woman - from some innate waywardness - is a universal, many-sided soul, not given to intense application but full of surprising interests. You would be oddly put out if a lady were to tell you that is not in the least interested in music or literature, or that she doesn't know what boxing is; she has to be interested in everything, to know something about everything, to be able to meet each one of our interests, and it is a sad thing if she has no more wit than to talk to a lyric poet about free trade or to an airman about Central European politics."
and
"If the woman becomes a speialist, an inventor, or something practical, who will link her up with the universal interests of the world, and what will become of us? Yes, what will become of us? For, don't forget that the so-called woman's question is of vital concern to men's interests."

All in all, it was a fun read.

[Abhishek Nanoty · Rating 5 out of 5]

...That is why anyone who wants to write a real tragedy must end his play with a wholesale massacre. It is not that death is in itself tragic and sublime, but that after that your hero can do nothing to disfigure his heroism.

To survive suffering is a melancholy thing. And if there is such a thing as modern heroism, then it must be not heroic death but heroic optimism...

[TheNiceTitan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shi lowkey intimate type shi

[Steven Pilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting beautifully written souffle light prose .