Sarajevski Marlboro

The stories do not divide characters into good and evil, but rather present nuanced portraits of people faced with the challenges of war. Elements such as a withered cactus, a grandmother's ring, or Marlboro cigarettes become symbols of everyday tragedies and losses. Jergović uses the war as a backdrop to explore the characters' inner states, often emphasizing how ordinary objects and situations take on new meaning in the context of war.

The collection has gained international recognition, has been translated into many languages, and has been awarded prestigious awards such as the Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Award and the Friedenspreis Erich-Maria Remarque. Sarajevo's Marlboro is considered one of the key works of so-called realist prose in Croatian literature, and it has made Jergović a prominent voice of a generation marked by war experience.