Sarajevo Marlboro

It is hard not to go back to "Sarajevo Marlboro" and re-read different short stories multiple times. It's one of those books that I make sure to have on my bookcase no matter where in the world I live at that moment. It is powerful yet simple in its wisdom and it will make you both laugh and cry. Quite simply, it is a beautifully thought-out and written story of a city which spirit never died during the tragic years of the war conflict.

This is an excellent book and makes a great gift for those interested in the Balkans and/or short stories. Jergovic takes the reader into the life of regular people during the Balkan wars and instead of focusing on the destruction, focuses on life; making his stories both powerful and informative. Buy this book! You won't regret it.

Jergovic has written a book full of life, full of laugh and despair. No one else like Bosnians - with this I mean anyone living a true life of a person in Bosnia - can make jokes on their own sad history and present. Some stories in this book are by far the best short stories I have read in my life and I recommend this book to everyone, especially to politicians who allowed that this humor almost disappears. Bravo Miljenko!

Literally dozens upon dozens of books have been written on the war in Bosnia and the break-up of Yugoslavia by journalists, scholars, diplomats, politicians, etc. both from the former Yugoslavia itself and abroad. However, hardly any of them shed as much light on the war in Bosnia (and, by extension, the recent tragic events throughout former Yugoslavia) as this slim volume. Jergovic has made an art-form of capturing so much feeling, passion and depth in such incredibly short stories. "Sarajevo Marlboro" can definitely be ranked among the great world literature of the last few decades. This is an outstanding book - read it by all means.

When Jergovic's book Sarajevo Marlboro was published in Croatia I thought here it is, another so called writer who wants to make money out of people's tragedy. But then, I met him and has been surprised. Man like him just can't be one of those nationalist writers in which books every second word is the name of his country. He thinks and he has great talents with words. Sarajevo Marlboro is mosaic made of two-three pages stories that point directly to your heart. Jergovic understand perfectly well what is going on in his city, to his fellow citizens and though he can't do anything to stop the history, he can remeber it - in his own voice. And that is the beauty of Sarajevo Marlboro.