96. War with the Newts by Karel Čapek
Review
“War with the Newts” by Karel Čapek is a thoughtful read. The first part of the book reads as though it is one of those classic black and white motion pictures that first portrayed science fiction in movies. Later the book changes character and becomes more of a survey of how humans might act when discovering a new species and it is frankly not a pretty sight. The book masterfully describes the callousness of slave trade and how despicably one person might treat another just based on appearances and ignorance. Taking the year of pulication into consideration (1936), it tastes like a bitter comment on society of the time. Unfortunately, it did not manage to change the course of history to a significant degree.
The most Karel Čapek writes an almost scientific story on the discovery of Newts and the treatment of these in “modern” society. He uses science fiction in one of the ways I personally most enjoy; creating an artificial scenario which highlights behaviour and views in the real world that we do not think critically about until we are shown the truth of our behaviour, simply by framing it a little differently. The book for many reasons remain relevant to this day, particularly seen from the view that the Newts are almost just passive bystanders to a war that is created by humans alone for the purpose of greed and power.
The closest comparison to another book I have read would probably be “Star Maker” by Olaf Stapledon. However, while “Star Maker” goes far beyond the scope of planet Earth, some of the themes overlap in the parts where we are on earth. I cannot name many others that I would compare it to. The only cases would be “Anthem” by Ayn Rand and “The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx if one is considering a read for the more political aspects.
Score: 8/10
The book is well-written and the author manages to make an incisive comment on slavery and how poorly humanity manages to treat each other across the globe and take advantage of others for their own advantage. It is books like this that allows one to remember the horrors of the past, so we can avoid repeating them again and it also shows that the effort to become “civilised” is a long and hard struggle, that never really finishes.