Ljudi i majmuni

People and Monkeys is a collection of satirical texts by Fadil Hadžić, which brings together humorous, fables, satires, aphorisms and short prose writings created during his long journalistic and literary career. Although the title suggests a comparison between man and animal, the author does not mock nature but human behavior. The monkey becomes a metaphor for imitation, opportunism and the loss of critical thinking, while the real target of satire is the social elite, bureaucracy, petty bourgeoisie, political conformity and everyday human weaknesses.

The book was written at a time when satire in the Yugoslav public space represented one of the rare forms of social criticism. As the founder and long-time director of the satirical theaters Komedija and Jazavac (today Kerempuh), Hadžić developed a recognizable style in which humor is not an end in itself, but a means of exposing social absurdities. The texts deal not only with the political circumstances of their time, but also with universal patterns of human behavior: the desire for power, careerism, corruption, hypocrisy, and the willingness of an individual to adapt to the majority for personal gain. This is why many satires have remained relevant even decades after their creation.

The work occupies an important place in Croatian satirical literature because it combines journalistic sharpness, a theatrical sense of dialogue, and literary irony. Instead of a unique plot, the book is united by the author's consistent criticism of society and the belief that laughter can reveal flaws that serious speech often fails to show.