Cross Roads

Review “Capek takes his place in that school of the short story which includes Chekhov, Katherine Mansfield, and our own Sherwood Anderson.” —The New York Times Book Review Product Description Written during and right after World War I, this volume pairs two short story collections from Karel Capek, considered one of the greatest Czech writers. The first collection, “Wayside Crosses,” presents an agonized and unsuccessful search for God and truth. These metaphysical tales are not about finding God as much as they are about discovering man’s limitations, his terror and helplessness, and understanding the value of the ongoing search. The second collection, “Painful Tales,” contains more realistic stories of characters being forced to make choices in which one good conflicts with another. From Publishers Weekly Cross Roads contains two short story collections by beloved Czech author Karel Capek (1890-1938). The former, the previously untranslated Wayside Crosses, is more metaphysical in tone: its tropes include a lone footprint in the snow and a single word etched onto the nightstand of a sick man. Characters utter lines like "How external everything is!" and two of the stranded travelers in "The Lost Way" sound like rejects from Beckett. The second collection, Painful Tales, is more satisfying in its excavation of its characters' inner lives a cuckolded husband, a grieving father and a frustrated governess. Even translator Norma Comrada admits that "these are neither Capek's best nor his most enjoyable stories," but completists might show some interest. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author Karel Capek was the leading novelist, story writer, playwright, journalist, humorist, and children's writer in Czechoslovakia during the 1920s and 1930s. Norma Comrada lives in Eugene, Oregon.