Erased

by Miha Mazzini

226 pages, Paperback

Published March 24, 2026

About the author

* 32 books published in 12 languages
* Short stories selected for many anthologies including Pushcart Prize 2011
* Screenwriter of 2 award-winning feature films (Golden Palm for the best film of the XXII Mostra de Valencia, European CIRCOM Award for the Best TV Film of 1992)
* Writer and director of 5 short films (Best director award at the Highgate Film Festival in London, best short film of 2011 at the Slovenian film festival)
* MA in Creative Writing for Film and Television, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
* PhD in Anthropology of Everyday Life, Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis, Slovenia

Reviews

[Michelle Ryles]

Oh my word, Erased by Miha Mazzini is an emotional and heartrending book that is astonishingly based on real events. It just blew my mind that this could happen but also reminded me how easy it is to press the delete button on a keyboard. I thought identity theft was scary but deletion of identity is even worse! This isn't an imaginative dystopian novel; this deletion actually happened in Slovenia in 1992. Wow!

Zala is about to give birth to her first child so she attends her local hospital, only to be told that she doesn't exist on the computer system. She is accused of being an illegal immigrant and presented with a bill for her hospital stay, oh and the hospital is keeping her baby. I can only imagine what Zala felt like and I had feelings of shock, outrage and devastation as I followed every step of her journey as she fights for her baby and her identity.

It's an incredibly emotional read as I really felt for Zala as she is on her own. She is a very strong character though and there's nothing more powerful than a mother fighting for her child. Miha Mazzini's evocative writing brings Zala to life so the reader can't help but take her to their heart. I actually forgot that it was a translated novel when I was reading it so I have to give a shout out to the impeccable translation by Gregor Timothy Čeh.

Shocking, disturbing and harrowing, Erased is a poignant and thought-provoking novel that really makes you think about your own electronic identity and how easily it could be erased. I would highly recommend this outstanding book to readers of all genres.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

[Mark Reece]

This novel tells the story of a group of Slovenes who became 'erased' when a computer error removed their citizenship details, meaning that they were unable to access any services and were considered foreigners.

The blurb describes the story as 'Kafkaesque', but the book is told on a much smaller scale than most dystopian literature. The protagonist, Zala, is erased shortly after giving birth and she is wholly focused on gaining access to her child, who the hospital won't release to a 'foreigner'. The highly personalized nature of the story is reflected in the descriptions of Zala's frustration in being unable to breastfeed. This gives the novel a strong narrative focus although is a little limiting on occasion.

The society described in the book is stiflingly conservative; people assume that Zala's status must be accurate on the basis of state agencies saying so, with even members of her family believing that she must have done something wrong to be subjected to that kind of treatment. There is some memorable characterization to this effect, including Zala's father, who constantly defends the honour of the now defunct Yugoslav army and watches the official news channels obsessively despite no longer living in the state he clearly valued. Another interesting character is Mark, Zala's American ex-boyfriend and the father of her child, who is honest although shallow.

A skillful fictionalization of a real life event, which is not easy to achieve.

[Katerina🤍]

I award three stars merely for the education this book provided, rather than the enjoyment.