Ćrtice
Tina Perić’s debut, although tackling a challenging theme – erasure – and although almost every sentence hurts to read, is not a bitter read. The bureaucratic move, which in the childhood life of the main character acquired a special name – “paper problem” – not only erased Mija’s father from the register of permanent residents, deprived him of the ability to work and stripped him of all rights, but it also practically erased him from her life. Fortunately, not permanently.
dr. Milica Antić Gaber
No. of pages: 200
Year of publication: 2024
“Ćrtice” is a novel about Mija and her family, who experienced erasure. And no one talks about it, neither the family nor the society. Mija’s story offers insight into the other side of Slovenian independence and the dissolution of Yugoslavia, in which she humorously questions established notions of social reality. Slovenian literature gets its first treatment of the theme of erasure and the establishment of a new state from the perspective of a child, a girl (later a growing girl and adult woman), who initially doesn’t understand, but gradually comes to grasp the concepts of citizenship, borders, and why it’s important to have enough lines on the last letter of your surname.
