Martin Kukuchin

From the peasants. Son of rural soltys . He studied at the Evangelical Gymnasium in Revuca , then in Martin , Banska Bystrica , and completed his education in Sopron . In connection with the anti-Slovenian atmosphere characteristic of that time, he refused to study theology in Bratislava and decided to study medicine in Prague .

After finishing his studies in 1893, he trained in Bratislava, Innsbruck and Vienna , then unsuccessfully tried to find work in Slovakia. In 1894, he got a job as a rural doctor in Dalmatia on the Croatian island of Brac , where he became an active member of the culture society “Hrvatski Sastanak” . In 1904 - one of its leaders. In 1896-1897 he tried unsuccessfully to return to Slovakia.

In 1908, in search of a better life, he left for South America, where he and his family settled in Punta Arenas ( Chile ) and lived there until 1922. In 1922 he returned home and until 1924 he lived again in Slovakia (at that time as part of Czechoslovakia), then moved to Croatia. In 1925 he again visited Chile briefly.

In 1926, due to the illness of his wife, he finally settled in Croatia in the resort town of Lipik , where he died in a hospital in the neighboring town of Pakrac in 1928. It was originally buried in Zagreb , and in October 1928 the ashes of the writer were transferred and buried in the National Cemetery in the city of Martin.

The debut of literary creativity took place in 1883 with the published story "Na hradskej ceste". At the initial stage, M. Kukuchin wrote mainly stories and stories in which he described his youth, his first work. In his works, written in a grotesque-humorous manner, he depicted pictures of rural life and peasant mentality almost with photographic accuracy. Since 1918, his work marks a turn towards tragicomic, sometimes nostalgic and existential motives, anxiety over the fate of his people and of all humanity.

The faith in a person is characteristic of the works of M. Kukuchin, although the author often laughs at his literary heroes, criticizes social conditions, however, still believes in the capabilities of his characters.

The stories of M. Kukuchin from the life of a Slovak village, in particular, the novel House on a Cliff (1903-1904) laid the foundation for critical realism in Slovak prose.

M. Kukuchin - author of the five-volume epic chronicle “Mother Calls” (1926–1927) about the difficult life of Slavic immigrants in South America, as well as the historical novels “Lukas Blagosy Krason” and “Bogumil Valizlost Fence” (both published posthumously, 1929) .

His literary heritage has gone beyond national literature and has been translated into several languages. Some works of the author were put on the stage, films were made on them.

He translated the works of N. V. Gogol into Slovak.

Prose

Travel books

• 1897 - V Dalmácii a na Čiernej hore
• 1901 - Rijeka - Rohić - Záhreb
• 1922 - Prechádzka po Patagónii
• 1923 - Dojmy z Francúzska

Dramaturgy

• 1888 - Komasácia
• 1922 - Bacúchovie dvor
• 1924 - Obeta

• Martin Kukuchin in the Literary Encyclopedia (inaccessible link) (inaccessible link from 14-06-2016 [1144 days])
• Martin Kukučín (words)
• Slovak Literary and Information Center. Martin Kukučín. Bibliography (words.)