The novel was first published in 1987 and sold 54,000 copies. It won the award for the best Slovenian novel of the year and the Golden Bird for exceptional artistic achievements – the first was awarded by the government, the second by the opposition. The award for this novel was probably one of the last things that people still agreed on in the disintegrating Yugoslavia.
Miha Mazzini wrote the screenplay for the film Operation Cartier based on the novel, which won the CIRCOM award for best European TV film of the year in 1992.
When the American translation of the novel was published much later, the Detroit Free Press newspaper ranked it among the best novels of 2005.
Editions
Slovenia: Prešernova družba, 1987, 165 pages, 54,000 copies!
USA: Scala House Press, 2004, ISBN: 0-9720287-4-9, translated by Maja Visenjak Limon
new Slovenian edition with DVD, Rokus, 2006
UK: Freight Books, 2014, ISBN: 978-1908754394, translated by Maja Visenjak Limon Buy at Amazon
Macedonia: Antolog, 2015, ISBN: 608243087-5, translated by Dragana Evtimova
Reviews
- Probably the most fascinating novel you will read this year. (Detroit Free Press, 2005) read more
- Detroit Free Press Top 10 Books of the Year 2005 (a list that includes Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, and Kazuo Ishiguro)
- This tale of endurance, infused with desperate humor, is already the best-selling Slovenian novel ever–deservedly. (Booklist, 2005) read more
- Confidently recommended reading for a contemporary audience. (Midwest Book Review, 2005) read more
- The first person narrative adds an immediacy to some of the writing here, and the pages move briskly. (John Lloyd, TheBookBag, 2014) read more
- This book is a fucking weird one. (BookCunt, 2014) read more
- Grimy work paints a powerful picture of a town that has failed its inhabitants. (Guardian, 2014)
- Crumbs is a little gem that will keep the reader interested and entertained with a razor edge to its tomfoolery. (Laura Jones, Publishthing, 2014)
- Ten Slovenian authors you should know: “is still considered by many as the best modern and generational Slovenian novel that reads intently like genre literature, reminding us of the Catcher in the Rye of the Yugoslav periphery in the late 1980s.” (Manca G. Renko, Sinfo, 2016) read more
Author’s words, almost 40 years later
“The Crumbs were, of course, created at a certain time and are a reflection of it. At the same time, after so many decades, I am amazed by their prophetic nature – they predict consumerism (perfume!) and also its consequences, especially frustration, which is visible everywhere today, and in the novel could also resolve into the most cruel violence. They also predict the struggle for individualization, which of course does not mean happiness and prosperity, but rather constant tension, another source of frustration. It is no wonder that the novel is still read after so many decades.” (2024)
Interviews
- A Literature of Independence, The Skinny magazine, February 2014.
Awards
- The best Slovenian novel of the year, 1986
- ‘Zlata ptica’ award for excellent artistic achievement by a young writer, 1988
Slovenian film of the year, selected by the audience - Borut Veselko – actor of the year, selected by the audience
- Winner of Prix CIRCOM REGIONAL Fiction 1992
