Pripovijetke

The collection of short stories by the prominent Croatian prose writer and satirist Slavko Kolar, carefully selected and accompanied by an extensive afterword by Nada Pavičić-Spalatin, brings together the most significant works of his social-psychological prose: Kompromis, Svoga tijela gospodar, Breza, Umjetni gnoj and Natrag u naftalin. In these works, Kolar masterfully depicts life in the Croatian countryside of the first half of the 20th century, uncompromisingly dissecting the mentality, backwardness, petty bourgeoisie, but also the indestructible life energy of his characters.

The collection is given special value by anthological short stories such as Breza, in which the author follows the shocking fate of the young and unhappy Janica with deep psychological insight, and Svoga tijela gospodar, which dissects difficult family relationships and the burden of tradition through the figure of the hunched-over Mate. Kolar's style is characterized by a sharp humorous and satirical tone, mild irony, but also great human compassion for the little man squeezed into rigid social frameworks. The afterword by Nada Pavičić-Spalatin expertly and analytically illuminates Kolar's poetics, making this edition indispensable reading for a deeper understanding of Croatia's realistic and humorous heritage.