Cradle of Life

This epic novel, published in 1936, is a fictional autobiography set in Croatia in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The narrator, Rudo Stanka, born to a young aristocratic mother out of wedlock in 1889, spends his early childhood as a foster child in a peasant family in a village near Zagreb. Ten years later his wealthy grandfather finds him and purchases a large country estate for him. Towards the end of the novel, Rudo increasingly turns his affections towards his peasant foster mother and her family and shows socialist sympathies. His attitude to the aristocracy which he was born into and which he benefits from is increasingly sceptical and he considers radical changes to the systems that uphold the status quo. A peculiar feature of the novel is the author's deconstruction of the narrator into Rudo at different ages, each age conversing with each other about his perspective on life.

The author, Louis Adamič (born 23 March 1898; his official year of birth in the United States was 1899 as he needed to subtract a year from his age in order to leave Austria-Hungary in 1913), grew up in Lower Carniola in southern Slovenia. Having become involved in nationalist politics and been expelled from school, he left for America in December 1913. At first he lived in New England and by 1916 was working in Boston as a reporter. Towards the end of the First World War, he served with the United States Army on the Western Front. After the war he continued to work as a journalist. His first book (a work of political non-fiction) was published in 1931. In his 1934 book, The Native's Return, he described a visit he made to his native country. His first novel appeared in 1935 and was followed in 1936 by this one. Among his other books were other autobiographical books and several publications promoting ethnic diversity in the United States. His book From Many Lands was the non-fiction winner of the Anisfeld-Wolf Book Award (for books promoting multiculturalism) in 1941.

The central character Rudo’s aristocratic mentor, Prince Arbogast von Hohengraetz, gives Rudo his personal insight into the character of Franz Ferdinand:
“I make no claim to being a prophet but mark my words, this century will be a century of explosions and unless I am greatly mistaken, this fellow F.F. will be a factor in starting or bringing them about... He is essentially stupid, yet forges ahead. He is virtually regent already. And who is his great friend but that Mich-und-Gott lunatic in Berlin, who is also 17th century or even further back, a robber baron imbued with the Bismarckian Drang nach Osten idea.”
At the very end of the novel, Rudo’s brother-in-law discusses the latest news:
“I read in the newspapers that Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand is to be in Sarajevo tomorrow and is there to be officially received — on Vidov dan [an important Serbian holiday]! He is now on the way to Bosnia to witness the great army manoeuvres. All of which, obviously, is intended to be a high-handed gesture against the pro-Serbian and Yugoslav feeling in Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia.”