Смртта на девојчето со кибритчињата

by Zoran Ferić, Владимир Јанковски (Translator)

„Смртта на девојчето со кибритчињата“ е првиот роман на Зоран Фериќ, автор познат по својот уникатен спој на црн хумор, гротеска и фасцинантни човечки судбини. Наизглед едноставната криминалистичка приказна за убиството на локалната проститутка и потрагата по убиецот се претвора во виор од необични настани и бизарни ликови – од ексцентрични чудаци до наизглед обични мештани кои ги кријат своите тајни.

Малиот островски свет на Фериќ не е само кулиса – тој е огледало на нашето секојдневие, гротескна преслика на реалноста која истовремено нè забавува и нè тера на размислување. Со доза фантазмагорична имагинација, романот ги истражува границите помеѓу нормалното и апсурдното, додека црниот хумор нè спасува од тежината на тој свет.

Ако сте подготвени за приказна која ќе ве насмее, ќе ве шокира, но и ќе ве натера да погледнете подлабоко под површината на човечката природа, овој роман ќе биде вашето незаборавно книжевно патување.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Historical Romance, Crime, Humor, Novels

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Zoran Ferić is the author of three novels and two collections of short stories.

He is among the most widely read contemporary Croatian prose writers.

His work has received numerous prizes, including the Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Prize in 2000 and the Jutarnji List Award for the Best work of prose fiction in 2001.

He lives in Zagreb.

Reviews

[August · Rating 4 out of 5]

disgusting, confusing, dark, and existential - I’m in love.

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tako dođem ja u knjižnicu i pita me gospođa želim li možda čitati nekog hrvatskog pisca jer, eto, žao im je što ih se čita znatno manje nego strane pisce. Pristala sam, naravno da jesam i pitala ju ima li neki prijedlog. Predložila mi je Ferića. Nisam prije čitala nešto njegovo pa mu htjedoh dati šansu. Izabrala sam Smrt djevojčice sa šibicama jer me zaintrigirao naslov.
I tako posudim ja Ferića, uputim se prema parku i krenem čitati. Bio je krasan dan - sunce, lagan vjetrić, cvrkut ptica, ljudi sa psima. Prava atmosfera za jedan opuštajući krimić.
Osim što nije krimić (ok, ima elemenata). I definitivno nije opuštajuće.
Ferić svojim ne toliko suptilnim sarkazmom ismijava sve, od vjernika sumnjivih moralnih vrijednosti do mentaliteta stanovnika otoka.
Preporuka? Apsolutno da.
Za sve? Apsolutno ne.
Ako slabije podnosite tabue, estetiku ružnoće, psovke i generalnu morbidnost, ne čitajte ovo.
A ako ste kao ja i volite pobjeći od ružnoće života skrivajući se u ne toliko nestvaran, ali ipak ružan fiktivan svijet, ovo je jako dobra knjiga za to.
Čitajmo hrvatske pisce! :)

[Stipe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Grozno. Humor je očajan, glavna je radnja apsolutno debilna i nezanimljiva, a svi pokušaji "šokiranja" čitatelja potpuno su neukusni. Ako se rugaš nekome ili nečemu, trebaš to učiniti s dozom šarma, inteligencije, originalnosti, a toga ovdje nema ni u tragovima. Loša dekonstrukcija kriminalističkog romana, nažalost.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Početak je bio obečavajuć no što se fabula dalje razvija, sve mi vise liči na natjecanje pasusa u morbidnosti. Gubi se poanta i užitak čitanja. Šteta

[Petra Rapaić · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ovo nije urnebesno nego morbidno 🙄

[nives · Rating 3 out of 5]

1 zbog cheap shock value i korištenja trans žene samo da bude spicy, 5 zbog dovitljivosti i stila

[jelen,a? · Rating 1 out of 5]

degutantno, minimalno dovitljivo i nimalo smiješno; reći za ovo da je "mediteranski twin peaks" ili "začinjeno humorom" je umišljeno i delulu. sve u svemu - nepotrebno, žali bože drveća za tisak.

[Obožavatelj Knjiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoran Ferić je jedan od najpoznatijih autora u Hrvatskoj i napokon sam pročitao jednu njegovu knjigu. Pročitao sam “Smrt djevojčice sa žigicama”. Knjigu sam odabrao jer postoji filmska adaptacija koju svakako planiram uskoro pogledati.

Ovu knjigu sam započeo čitati tako da sam minimalno znao o knjizi. Zato mi je prvi šok i zapravo najveći dojam ostavio iznimno jak crni humor i nemala doza morbidnosti. Osobno volim crni humor, ali ga smatram jako kompliciranim za korištenjem u romanima. Tanka je granica između primjerenog i neprimjerenog crnog humora.

Na početku su mi iznenađujuće dojmove ostavili crni humor i morbidnost u tekstu. Onda mi se to svidjelo kad sam se privikao i prilagodio očekivanja. Ipak na kraju postane previše jer nema predaha od toga, počinje biti zamorno.

Autor bi bolji dojam postigao da su crni humor i morbidnost korišteni povremeno, a ne cijelo vrijeme. Također sam imao dojam da je bilo nepotrebnih detalja samo radi šok faktora. Tipa, suludo mi je bilo komentiranje stidnih dlaka muškarcu koji je izgubio dijete. Takve rečenice su potpuno suvišne.

Uz to, kraj sam je razočaravajući jer je rasplet meni osobno nerealan. Nisam uvjeren da je stvarno ta osoba ubojica.

Usprkos kritici koju imam prema knjizi, ne mislim da je ovo loša knjiga. Početak i sredina su bili izvrsni i uživao sam u čitanju. Zbog toga mi je posebice žao da mi je kraj ostavio tako gorak okus u ustima jer se vidi na početku da autor zna dobro pisati, samo mu je nedostajao netko (urednik?) tko bi mu rekao da smanji elemente crnog humora i morbidnosti

[Sebastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vidim da se za ovaj roman mahom laćaju ljudi koji očekuju klasičan krimić ili zabavnu literaturu o ostvrskom životu, a onda se iznenade kad im Ferić šukne savršeno skockani paket brilijantnih uvrnutosti i bizarština. Iako sam obično ljubitelj kompaktne i zaokružene radnje, ovde poenta upravo nije u tome, već u putovanju, u nizu rašrafljenih i skoro-pa-nepovezanih anegdota koje nam prenose atmosferu specifičnog mesta i vremena, što se samo dodatno naglašava (logički ipak zaokruženim) navrat-nanos strčavanjem sa voza na kraju literarnog putovanja. Sa druge strane, možda je i teško na pravi način osetiti ambijent knjige ako niste i sami živeli u maloj, zatvorenoj, "ostrvskoj" zajednici.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book I am so glad I picked up while on vacation in Croatia. The writer truly knows how to keep me involved, his prose is tight and full of great moments (the town with four noons, and the twist on that at the end) the characters are just the most interesting mix of misfits I've read in a while, and the mystery and intrigue kept me turning pages and excited to read more. It was over almost too quickly, at a scant 190 pages. I highly recommend this story. Like a classier Chuck Palahniuk, with a disincentive Central European flare.

[Jonpaul]

Misogynist, homophobic, unfunny turd of a book. Reading this is like being forced to sit next to a loud jerk who thinks he's the funniest, smartest guy in the room. This book is an utter waste of time, money, and paper.

[Carlos B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know if it is the translation or what but most of the bad reviews this book have are from English readers. In my case, I read the book in this language and I understood nothing. The book makes no sense at all.

It is a collection of short bizarre stories joined together with a plot about the death of a little girl and the murder of a Romanian travesti in Rab. There should be an atmosphere of black humor that doesn't really work for me.

The different characters are not very believable and you ended up reading about senseless, and most of the time boring, stories about football, stripers, virgin librarians, children with down syndrome, horny Germans, smart ass police officer, creepy doctors who like to tell their patiences that they have cancer, crazy people leaving the sanitarium, magicians, etc.

[Blazz J · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5. Ko sredi Hrvaške divja Oluja, se patolog Fero, naveličan seciranja človeških ostankoc, po več letih
vrne na domači otok Rab, med otoške posebneže, nekdanje in občasne "drugare", ki se jim je tako ali drugače odpeljalo. Udeleži se pogreba šestletne deklice Mirne, katere smrt je nastopila zaradi levkemije. V večeru po končanih pogrebnih ceremonijah pa trupelce izgine... je bila na delu tajna služba, skrivnostni otoški kult menihov, morda celo nekrofilov? Neklasična detektivka, je pa za bolj trpežne želodce.

[Lucija · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uzimam jednu zvjezdicu zbog najgoreg spisateljskog zločina koji nikome ne mogu oprostiti - pred kraj knjige opisuje se događaj spolnog zlostavljanja psa (i to još Šnaucera!!!!). Gospodn Ferić kroz knjigu unosi puno šokantnih i nepredvidivih scena koje po meni ne služe svojoj svrsi, a to je da zaintrigira čitatelja kako bi nastavio čitati, već mi se čini kako pokušava biti što više "edgy" iliti avangardan kako bi se istanknuo iz mnoštva bezličnih autora na hrvatskoj sceni. Zoran Ferić aka edgelord supreme ...
Ukratko, po meni ovaj roman nije bio ni humorističan ni intrigantan da bi zaslužio da na poleđini knjige piše opis "...mediteranski Twin Peaks..."

[Petra Maruna Bujas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moram priznati da sam ja prvo pogledala film pa pročitala knjigu, no kojim god redoslijedom idete, nećete pogriješiti.

Mene je ovaj roman držao u neizvjesnosti cijelo vrijeme i posezala sam za njim kad god bih imala vremena. Radnja se odvija na Rabu, u ratno vrijeme, ali Rab tada ima i veće brige od rata, a jedna od njih je svakako smrt prostitutke i smrt malene djevojčice koja pokreće radnju. No, za razliku od filma koji je temeljen na krimi dijelu romana, roman nam daje puno dublji uvid u likove, vraća se u prošlost da bi nam razjasnio neke odnose, ali donosi i mračne, pomalo nerealne detalje.

[Ivana Jelinic · Rating 2 out of 5]

The translator, Tomislav Kuzmanovic, was my university professor. He spoke about the book a couple of times and I actually really enjoyed his lectures on translation, so, naturally, I bought the book. And it waited a good couple of years for me to actually dive into it. Don't know why, but I just always had it tucked somewhere at the back, waiting for the right time I guess.

I can't decide if I'd give it 2 or 3 stars. It's an interesting read, and many people quite like the book, but it didn't really do much for me (considering the fact that I don't like swearing, cruelty & sadism in my books and films, and I myself rarely swear, I am not surprised it doesn't float my boat).

The story is interesting and kept me invested enough to keep turning the pages, but I really didn't like the amount of bad language, bizarre situations, homophobia, racism, and especially sadism. At times, I couldn't really follow the story as either the story or its characters were strange and incoherent. Often, I would forget who is who, so I had to go back to the beginning to remind myself who's that character I'm supposed to be following.
Overall, it was decently interesting, but mostly bizarre and incoherent. Not for the masses, this one!

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

We were on holiday in Croatia and had unexpectedly run out of books to read. Browsing through the very small selection of English books in the local village I was pleasantly surprised to find that, instead of all the latest bestsellers, they had a range of contemporary Croatian books in translation, so I picked this one up.
What a disappointment. Clumsily translated, with many glaring errors, typos, inconsistencies and illogicalities, it reads like a messy first draft.
The plot bears some surface similarities to the Sciascia I read recently: a murder in a small town, investigated by an interested amateur, and an author more keen to use the crime as away to reveal the inhabitants' peculiarities and secrets than as a puzzle to be solved.
Feric himself says he wanted to write a "Mediterranean Twin Peaks", and I guess he succeeded in that he matches Lynch for nightmarish surrealism, but I found the whole thing very tiresome. A parade of freaks, sadism, cheap fatalism, empty symbolism and narrative dead ends, most of the time I neither knew nor cared what was going on. Maybe this sense of dislocation was deliberate, but for me it was neither enlightening nor entertaining.

[Željko Erceg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ako volite Brešanove filmove, ovo je roman za vas, pa mi je nekako čudno da se Ferić i Brešan nisu već našli na nekom projektu. U startu se radi o skoro jednakom uvrnutom humoru koji baš i ne izaziva na smijeh, zatim na dosta bizarnih pojava a sve skupa u rješavanju nekog misterija.
Čitajući ovaj roman sjetio sam se opaske svog prijatelja kako bi pisac svoje likove trebao voljeti. Nažalost, nisam našao lika kojeg bih volio u ovom romanu, a čini mi se da nije ni autor.
Ono što mi se najviše svidjelo su dijalozi, koje sam mogao osjetiti baš kao da ih slušam u prirodnom okruženju iako vjerujem da bi otočki jezik bio manje razumljiviji od Ferićevog.
Najpoštenija ocjena bi zapravo bila 3+, ali zbog izostanka one ljubavi prema likovima, nek bude jedna manje.

[Vedran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imala je svoje super trenutke, početak je jako obećavao i humor koji se pojavljivao bio mi je odličan, ali kada sve zbrojim i oduzmem moram priznati da sam ostao razočaran. Možda zato jer sam imao velika očekivanja, a čitao sam je nedugo nakon Djece Patrasa.

[Rin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mmmm, yes, I like it when books have more swearing and debauchery than random video on the Hub. I also like them homo-necro-pedo-zoofillic themes, they are just my cup of poison so I never have to see this ever again.

This "book" is a pitiful excuse of a novel.
I am sorry for the paper that was used for writing, I mourn those letters, words and sentences that were uttered in this mess and I cry for all those poor souls who were required to read and edit this and then print it. Their names are now forever connected with shit.

And woe to those who, like I, had the misfortune of being convinced this is something worthy of our time and brain cells.

I've never watched 'Twin peaks' and after this garbage I don't want to. It promised dark humor and various taboo themes but all we got was sailor's cursing on every other page, "shocking scenes" for the sake of shocking the reader (e.g. "the devil's tango" with the kids/ animals/ the dead) and some vague plot (murder of a shemale stripper) that needs solving. Yet, due to the enormous amount of "holy phrases" in this particulary "sacred text", the plot gets irrelevant, forgettable and boring. Actually, besides occasional smirk or laugh in the first several chapters, this book is utterly boring, cheap, thin, grotesque, filthy and disgusting. It has failed on every single front imaginable because not even those shocking elements are worthy of praising for they don't elevate this novel, but rather burry it deep in the trenches of most worthless pieces of literature ever written. I'd go as far to state that it is sinful and arrogant to consider this particular "novel" a piece of literature.

This is complete and utter filth of "a novel", filled to the brim with complete lack of bacis taste, decency and common sense, pieced together by some sort of story that is cheap and thin and not interesting (just like everything else in this rotten word salad), shrouded with the coat of painful and talentless writing.

I can't remember the last time I read something so forgettable, so disgusting, so cheap.
Although I'll give the author another chance with other novel/s, I will not recommend this one to anyone - not even my enemies.

0,5/5 stars and that half of the star is because this was author's first novel.

When I see books like these and that "Instagram poetry" type of content, which is cringey at best, I feel literary anyone can be an author.
It's sad that in this day and age, readers are served this as something new and modern.
It should come as no surprise then that people are either afraid of reading books or are down right disgusted and discouraged by these types of books and those who push them like shit down our throats (i.e. teachers and various curriculums that are detached from reality and their audience).

I am ashamed this type of books are familiarised with the entire nation, especially since the author wrote in the "national humor", which is wrong on so many levels. And this book is not an anomaly. There's a list of books like this and it's sad, truly sad what we call "literature" these days.
This is a humor not even beggars on the street would find funny, let alone educated individuals.

Again, I won't dunk on the author, though I wonder what goes on inside one's head to make him write and then publish - for all to see - something like this!?
Hopefully, with a couple more of honest reviews like mine, future potential readers will be saved from this mess and will read something worth their time instead.

Edit: December 23rd, 2022
In conversation with colleagues, certain aspects of this review need to be changed. Though I stand by what I said about the general tone and execution of the novel (profanity, taboo themes, etc.), I need to mention here that there is a possible allegory of war and the author's homeland's place in broader european heritage.

Several times war is mentioned in this novel, happening just across the strait, on the mainland. Yet, people of the novel are not concerned that much, if at all, with that realisation so they just carry on with their life. As if they're their own microcosmos, independent of the mainland, to which they belong, but also of Europe as a whole.

There is also an allegory of author's homeland being excluded from the rest of "civilised Europe", just like the novel's island is detached from the rest of the country (both physically and spiritually). It seems that author went to great lenghts in covering these, and many other more serious themes, with upfront and raw writing. It is not everyone's cup of tea and it doesn't always work. Here it is very difficult to appreciate the allegory (if there is any) when everything seems disjointed. I'll pretend that there is some deeper undertone in this novel, covered with unimportant story, but it won't change much about my rating.

I'll circle it now to a full 1/ 5 stars, maybe 1,5/ 5 for a possibility of other, more profound messages and themes I didn't catch while reading. Though, my warning still stands. Be carefull with this one.

[Ognjen Lopusina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Још један хрватски кримић. И још једном у освит рата у Хрватској на Јадранском мору. Главни лик који се зове као и писац књиге враћа се из нејасних разлога и на нејасно време у свој завичај на отоку Рабу. Повод може бити спровод девојчице његовог школског друга која је преминула од леукемије и којом почиње књига, а то може бити и само један од чеховљевских момената када се ми укључујемо (а да јесте тако, видимо при крају).

Након овог увода полагано упознајемо класичан микрокосмос хрватске острвске провинције са целом галеријом ћакнутих карактера уз неколико злочина заденутих где треба. Ови злочини имају улогу да нас лагано крузирају до краја. У њима није поента и ни у једном тренутку ми не висимо са литице због напетости. Феро, опет из не баш прејасних разлога, започиње и више него фул тајм паталошку + детективску улогу у истрази.

Уместо трилера Ферић нас води кроз идиосинкратичности оточког живота, кроз своје бивше љубави, животне сумње и падове, по мало у неком дубоком бекграунду и кроз ратне трауме. Све то не би ли себе довео у позицију судије који треба да рашчивија решење главног злочина. Дакле код Ферића је и нож и погача када је у питању однос према правди али и према свом родном месту. На крају нас оставља са некаквим шредингерским осећајем бивствовања у оба могућа света.

Да сам режисер погурао бих екранизацију у правцу филмова Бруна Димонта у којем луди ликови имају прилику да демонстрирају своја лудила док убијени једноставно статира пружајући сцену за мале људе из родног краја. Овај роман није толико ишчашен и више нам се обраћа мужјачким БРО тоном, али сами ликови имају материјала да оду ка надреалном.

[Lucija · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gdje je komedija u ovoj crnoj komediji? Meni izrazito ne-zabavna knjiga, likovi jako plošno odrađeni s ciljem da šokiraju čitatelja. Meni iskreno nije ni previše šokiralo, samo mi je bilo naporno i dosadno. Svaka čast autoru jer se svakakvih gluposti sjetio napisati (usporedbe koje meni ne bi pale na pamet, npr guzni aspirant), ali nije mi to neka odlika dobre knjige.

Ako nekog zanima kvalitetna eksplicitna i morbidna knjiga, probajte Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West ili Earthlings.

[Some Guy Who Writes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calling Zoran Ferić's original novel about a murder of a transgender prostitute in a small, gated island community with a cast of memorable and unique characters a revolutionary frontier in contemporary Croatian genre fiction would be an understatement. With it's Twin Peaks-esque tone and writing style, a Scandinavian noir inspired setting and atmosphere, as well as establishing tropes and elements that would eventually come to be known as Ferić-esque. It exists in its own little world, separated from the styles and tropes of other Croatian mystery novelists (Pavao Pavličić's 60s harboiled noir, Robert Naprta's utter incompetence, Drago Hedl's bleak social commentary and Danijel Špelić's small town fun).

[Chris Hays · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah....no. Even with a bit of knowledge regarding Croatian humor, understanding what type of story the author was trying to write, this book was not for me. And with regards to opinions of others, I would be very hesitant to hand this book to friends or colleagues. The jokes contain bigotry, sexism, or racism the story is convoluted with characters who are hard to follow or understand, and the translation to English missed in some parts. I was disappointed by all the acclaim and the final product.

[Kozmokitap · Rating 3 out of 5]

İlk defa Hırvat edebiyatından bir eser okudum. Yazarın tarzı ve olayları ele alış tarzı farklı geldi bana. İşin içinde cinayet ve araştırma olunca daha sürükleyici bir kitap beklemiştim. Kitap sürükleyici bir kitap değil. Psikolojik, polisiye ve kara kurgu bir arada olarak kendime göre tanımlayabilirim kitabı. Farklı bir tarz ve farklı bir kitap okumak isteyenlere hitap edebilir.

https://kozmokitap.blogspot.com.tr/20...

[Matovina Jasmina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tema je ok. Ne mogu reći da je već viđena. Ima tu svega. Malo mističnog,pa onda opet ne mističnog,duhovnog, pa onda malo demonskog. Uglavnom radnja se razvija. Ide to sve svojim nekim tokom međutim stalno nešto fali. Inače nisam osoba od nekih velikih karakteriziranja likova ali ovdje mi je to baš nedostajalo. Likovi su nedovoljno razrađeni osim naravno glavnog lika. Neke tokom čitanja totalno smetnem s uma i tek kad se pojave pokušavam ih se prisjetiti.
Uglavnom čitko i zanimljivo.

[Tamara C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slučajno sam.ovu knjigu počela čitati prije odlaska na Rab i tamo je završila. Atmosfera knjige ne podudara se sa ljepotom.otoka, ali sam šetala otokom kao da su mi sva mjesta već poznata. Sama priča me zaintrigirala. Likovi u knjizi baš odgovaraju predrasudama koje imamo o "zatvorenim" otočanima. Ferićev sarkazam ponekad nasmijava, ali češće me rastužuje. Moram priznati da sam pred kraj malo pogubila nit priče.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prilično dobar roman, kvalitetno napisan, iako ne odolijeva sirenskom zovu nepotrebnih morbidarija. Završetak pomalo razočara - nakon vješto vođene priče, mnogobrojnih sumnjivaca, mamaca, završava prebrzo, štoviše, uopće nismo sigurni da su pravi krivci uhvaćeni.

[Sanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crno, morbidno….a redikulaa, a i nije bas krimić

[Lara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lijepo je započela i onda je postala previše ferićevska.