
Kratki izlet: Zapisi iz Domovinskog rata
The novel is an autobiographical account of the author's experiences during the Homeland War. The book covers the period from August 1992 to September 1993, during which Cvetnić participated in the southern battlefield, especially in the Dubrovnik area.
The work is a combination of war diary, essay and prose, imbued with humor, irony and distance, which distinguishes it from pathetic and heroic depictions of war. Cvetnić depicts the absurdities of the military hierarchy, the confusion of institutions and individuals, and the inner struggle of an individual faced with the horrors of war. The focus is not on an epic battle, but on a man who, in chaos, tries to preserve his dignity and sanity.
The novel has become extremely important in the context of Croatian war literature because it addresses the theme of war without glorification, from the position of a skeptical, educated observer. It won the Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Award and has remained recognized as one of the most significant prose works of Croatian literature in the 1990s.
One copy is available