The Case of My Own Downfall is a novel that could only have been written in Croatia in 2023. It profoundly and precisely dissects the systems of education and police, questioning how many compromises and concessions we can make before finding ourselves on the side of injustice. In the novel, injustice is omnipresent and all-encompassing. It is an unquestionable given, and only the just and modern Antigone, Marli, and Profa fight against it.

Novak's novel is also a grand mosaic, a remarkable fresco of Međimurje in the 21st century. Or, more precisely, of the multiple Međimurjes that coexist side by side. The intention was to create a representation of community, a group of people connected by something more than just living in the same space. The formats of large productions are increasingly disappearing in the onslaught of capitalism. When I saw the ensemble from Varaždin, the ensemble from Rijeka, and the students from the youth drama studio playing The Case of My Own Downfall together on stage, I was happy and proud that I had the opportunity. Thirty people bear witness; there are those of us who see. There are those of us who remember.

Ivan Plazibat

It is a story that starts with a tragic event, an individual gunshot that echoes through its surroundings and fundamentally changes individuals and systems. And immediately, three systems, all three essential and all three dysfunctional. Police, education, family. We follow protagonists who, at any cost, want to do the right thing and fight for truth and justice, even if it means risking their visions of happy lives. I am interested in the protagonist in doubt, a person facing a problem that cannot be solved except by creating a new, perhaps even bigger problem, torn between longing and necessity. I am interested in how they move, act in their environment, and change under increasing pressure.

Kristian Novak