Martin Kacur - The Biography of an Idealist

by Ivan Cankar, John K. Cox (Translator)

The novel Martin Kačur, which dates from 1907, tells the engrossing story of a young schoolteacher who moves from one provincial Slovene town to the next, trying to enlighten his countrymen and countrywomen but instead receiving only the mistrust and scorn of the traditional-minded and petty population. The novel is ruthless in its analysis and self-analysis of the failure of this abstract idealist. Brilliant descriptions of Slovenia's natural beauty alternate with the haze of alcoholic despair, rural violence, marital alienation, and the death of a young and beloved child. The Slovene prose writer, poet, and dramatist Cankar's characterizations of duplicitous political and religious leaders (the village priest, the mayor, other teachers, doctors, etc.) and the treacherous social scene are remarkable in their engaging clarity. No doubt the raw emotional impact of Martin Kačur derives partly from Cankar's portrayal of the way society isolates people, denying them sympathy and solidarity. Cankar's style here owes a debt both to naturalism and to symbolism and contains, in its sometimes frantic pace and associative interior monologues, hints of early expressionism.

Genres: Fiction, Classics

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1906

About the author

Ivan Cankar was a well known Slovenian writer, poet, essayist, and political activist.

Reviews

[Micah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't even find the Bailiff Yerney on this system, but it's no less timely and inspiring as it was in the 1920s. What has happened to the memory of world literature when authors like Cankar are lost in obscurity? Sad.

[RD Chiriboga Moncayo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful portrayal of a self-centered, masochistic, self-righteous "Idealist" whose lack of common sense and compassion dooms him to an ineffective and unhappy life.

[hamna · Rating 4 out of 5]

“tudi trezni ljudje so že postali poslanci” ❤️ kačur je delusional (he’s just like me fr)