Apocryphal Tales

Each time a devoted reader approaches a newly published book by Capek (War with the Newts) it is with some trepidation. Is this the book that will show the Czech writer (1890-1938) to have had weaknesses, redundancies? If there is such a book, this isn't it. A page of one-line fables and a handful of short, lovely ""Would-Be Tales"" aside, the bulk of this volume is in the ""Apocryphal Tales."" Written over the course of 18 years, these parables and allegories use historical and legendary figures such as Hamlet, Napoleon and Don Juan to comment on current events or the general state of humanity. ""The Death of Archimedes"" and ""Alexander the Great,"" written in the year preceding the Munich Pact, take a mordant look at political necessity used as a justification for conquest. Most often, Capek's stories plead for a forgiving humanity against inflexible idealism, whether on the part of individuals or governments. In the funny and very touching ""The Ten Righteous,"" he takes his argument for leniency to God. Here, Sarah and Abraham, speaking in good pseudo-scriptural prose, try to compile a list of 10 righteous people who could redeem Sodom and Gomorrah: ""Then spake Sarah, saying: `What do you have against Namuel? True, he's stupid, but he's pious.'"" They can't, of course, find the requisite number of righteous, leaving Sarah to plead with her husband to go back to God and ask for mercy. Well-structured and concise, these little nuggets combine broad learning with sharp wit to make powerful moral statements. (June)