Miljenko Jergović
A Bosnian-Croatian literary voice who masterfully dissects the complex, painful history of the Balkans with irony and deep humanity.
Born 1966 (age 60)·Bosnian and Croatian writer·Birthday: May 28·Generation X
Biography
Miljenko Jergović is a writer whose work is inextricably linked to the shattered geography of his homeland. Born in Sarajevo to a mixed Croatian-Bosniak family, he began his career as a poet before the Yugoslav wars forged him into a formidable prose writer. His fiction and essays, often sprawling and historically dense, grapple with the legacy of conflict, identity, and memory. Jergović writes from a perspective that is deliberately between worlds—neither fully Bosnian, Croatian, nor Serbian in a nationalist sense, but profoundly Yugoslav in his cultural memory. This position allows him to critique all sides with a sharp, often satirical eye. Based in Zagreb, he remains a provocative and essential commentator, using stories of ordinary people to map the psychological wounds of a region.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Miljenko was born in 1966, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Miljenko Was Born
The biggest hits of 1966
#1 Movie
The Bible: In the Beginning
Best Picture
A Man for All Seasons
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Miljenko's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1966Born
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1971Started school
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1979Became a teenager
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Could drive
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1984Could vote
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1987Turned 21
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1996Turned 30
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 40
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 50
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 60
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Awarded the prestigious NIN Award for best novel in Serbia for 'The Walnut Mansion' ('Dvorac od oraha').
- His collection of short stories, 'Sarajevo Marlboro,' is an internationally recognized literary portrayal of the siege of Sarajevo.
- Has published a vast and diverse body of work including novels, short stories, essays, and newspaper columns across the former Yugoslav states.
Did You Know?
He worked as a journalist during the siege of Sarajevo, filing reports for Croatian and Slovenian newspapers.
He is a columnist for the Croatian weekly newspaper 'Jutarnji list,' where his pieces often stir political and cultural debate.
His novel 'The Walnut Mansion' spans the entire 20th century in the Balkans, following a family from Bosnia.
“I write from the ruins of a country that no longer exists.”
