Novel
Three Chestnut Horses
Tri gaštanové kone
Margita Figuli · 1940
Synopsis
In a mountain village in northern Slovakia, in the thirties, Peter, an honest and pure pedlar, has loved Magdaléna since childhood and asks her to marry him. But the girl's mother has promised her to Ján Zápotočný, a rich, cruel and unrestrained peasant who occasionally smuggles horses. Magdaléna agrees to wait for Peter if he proves he can set up a home and support her, but misfortune strikes their lives. Three chestnut horses, beauty, combative virility and sensuality, carry the lyrical atmosphere of the story.
Context
The novel appeared in 1940 with Matica slovenská and was an immediate great success, with eight editions in seven years. It belongs to the prose of naturism, which explores the inner nature of man, his irrational acts and his passions, often read in a mythical way. Under the communist regime, the editions lost several religious passages; the original 1940 text reappeared in 2011 in a selection of works compiled by Milan Šútovec. Norma L. Rudinsky reads in the three horses the goodness, beauty and strength of nature, and John Minahane translated the novel into English in 2014.
Who it is for
A short novel in lyrical, rhythmic prose, carried by its symbols, and readable in English since 2014.
Prizes and reception
A beloved classic of Slovak literature, and one of the country's great bookshop successes.