O neuspjehu i nebitnome

The unnamed hero of Filip Rutić's brilliant debut On Failure and the Unimportant is a chronically unsuccessful sociology student who is not even sure why he is studying. He knows that there is no secure job waiting for him after college, he is intelligent and cynical, capable and unmotivated, like most of his friends he is afraid of an uncertain future, but he is sure of only one thing - that he wants to become a writer.

When he falls madly in love with the young Anđela, a vegetarian who is the complete opposite of him, meticulous and determined to succeed, motivated to exercise every morning and fulfill her college obligations, she becomes the possibility of his change. Things, of course, are never that simple. We will love Rutić's hero both self-destructive, hungover, and resigned, we will be angry with him because he misses obvious opportunities or takes love for granted. But we will understand his constant feeling of not belonging in the search for himself.

"I find her covered up to her chin in the room. He apologizes to me. She is too hungry and has so much to do today. I feel like the biggest jerk. What gives me the right to be offended because she doesn't want to fuck? It's such a sneaky way of blackmailing. And when I'm already so aware of everything, why doesn't it stop? I disobey my own orders. A part of me seems to accept this duality. I kiss her on the forehead and say that everything is fine. That crappy expression is still there anyway. I feel his weight, I avoid her gaze. I try to smile, but what the lips are doing is not a smile. I go back to bed to hug her. We stay lying down."