Избранное. Чапек

Karel Chapek (1890-1938) - vydai͡ushchiĭsi͡a cheshskiĭ prozaik, dramaturg, perevodchik, obshchestvennyĭ dei͡atelʹ i filosof, chʹe imi͡a stoit v odnom ri͡adu s takimi literaturnymi velichinami, kak Anatolʹ Frans, Romen Rollan, Bernard Shou, Gerbert Uėlls, Tomas Mann.Eshche pri zhizni on poluchil shirokoe priznanie kak v Chekhoslovakii, tak i za ee predelami: byl nominantom Nobelevskoĭ premii po literature 1936 goda, osnovatelem i pervym predsedatelem Chekhoslovat͡skogo PEN-kluba, chlenom Komiteta Ligi Nat͡siĭ po literature i iskusstvu, vydvigalsi͡a na dolzhnostʹ prezidenta Mezhdunarodnogo PEN-kluba (otkazalsi͡a ot posta iz-za bolezni). Neskolʹko nagrad nazvany ego imenem, naprimer Premii͡a Karela Chapeka, prisuzhdaemai͡a kazhdye dva goda Cheshskim PEN-klubom za literaturnui͡u rabotu, kotorai͡a sposobstvuet ukreplenii͡u ili podderzhanii͡u demokraticheskikh i gumanisticheskikh t͡sennosteĭ v obshchestve. Pridumannoe im slovo 'robot' stalo internat͡sionalʹnym naimenovaniem mekhanicheskogo cheloveka.Chapek sozdaval svoi proizvedenii͡a v samykh raznykh zhanrakh, zachastui͡u smeshivai͡a ikh. Glavnym dli͡a nego vsegda byl si͡uzhet. V sbornike izbrannykh proizvedeniĭ cheshskogo klassika predstavleny tri ipostasi ego tvorchestva: fantasticheskiĭ roman 'Voĭna s salamandrami' - bez preuvelichenii͡a, luchshee fantasticheskoe proizvedenie Chapeka, preduprezhdai͡ushchee ob opasnosti, kotorui͡u nesut li͡udi͡am voĭny, nat͡sionalizm i bezotvetstvennoe otnoshenie k ėkologii planety; antivoennai͡a pʹesa 'Matʹ', povestvui͡ushchai͡a o tragicheskom konflikte obshchestvennogo, geroicheskogo nachala i lichnogo, intimnogo mira cheloveka; i i͡umoristicheskiĭ rasskaz 'Sudebnyĭ sluchaĭ' - blesti͡ashchiĭ obrazet͡s absurdnosti nashego mira.Vse ėti proizvedenii͡a po-prezhnemu aktualʹny. Oni podnimai͡ut zlobodnevnye i segodni͡a problemy, pri ėtom Chapek ne pytaetsi͡a moralizirovatʹ, a lishʹ khochet probuditʹ v li͡udi͡akh sovestʹ.©

Karel Capek (1890-1938) was an outstanding Czech novelist, playwright, translator, public figure and philosopher, whose name is on a par with such literary figures as Anatole France, Romain Rolland, Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Thomas Mann.During his lifetime, he was widely recognized both in Czechoslovakia and abroad: he was a nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1936, the founder and first chairman of the Czechoslovak PEN Club, a member of the Committee of the League of Nations for Literature and Art, was nominated for the post of president of the International PEN Club (refused the post due to illness). Several awards are named after him, such as the Karel Capek Prize, awarded every two years by the Czech PEN Club for literary work that contributes to the strengthening or maintenance of democratic and humanistic values in society. The word 'robot', coined by him, became an international name for the mechanical man.Chapek created his works in a variety of genres, often mixing them. The main thing for him was always the plot. The collection of selected works of the Czech classic presents three hypostases of his work: the fantastic novel "The War with the Salamanders" - without exaggeration, the best fantastic work of Chapek, warning about the danger that wars, nationalism and irresponsible attitude to the ecology of the planet bring to people; the anti-war play "Mother", which tells about the tragic conflict of the social, heroic beginning and the personal, intimate world of a person; and the humorous story "Judicial Case" - a brilliant example of the absurdity of our world.All these works are still relevant. They raise topical issues today, while Chapek does not try to moralize, but only wants to awaken people's conscience.©