Reviews and Responses:
🔴 “An interesting, socially relevant and, above all, emotionally profound story.” — Dr Igor Čuhalev
Igor Čuhalev: The Family Spiral
In his accompanying essay “The Family Spiral” (Družinska vijačnica), which is also published at the end of the novel, Dr Igor Čuhalev emphasises the multigenerational structure of the narrative and the way painful memories are passed down through generations.
As he writes:
“Painful memories are passed down through generations and can cause ever new pain.”
In his assessment, the novel is also distinguished by two narrative voices that do not offer the reader a single, definitive truth. Mojca’s and Luka’s perspectives complement one another, diverge and return to the past, requiring readers to judge for themselves questions of responsibility, guilt and possible ways out.
Čuhalev concludes his assessment of the novel with the words:
“An interesting, socially relevant and, above all, emotionally profound story.”
Read “The Family Spiral” in Jantarna lastovka
Modre novice: A Novel About the Fate of Three Generations
In February 2025, Modre novice also published an extensive article about the novel on the occasion of its presentation at the France Balantič Library in Kamnik. The article particularly highlights the two first-person perspectives, the novel’s non-chronological structure and the pain that returns in new forms from one generation to the next.
“Through the narratives of the mother Mojca and her son Luka […], the novel Fucking Life delves into the fate of three generations who tragically mark one another’s lives.”
Luka’s language occupies a special place in the novel. His narrative is written in slang and colloquial language, bringing readers closer to his inner world, his anger, frustration and shattered reality. At the presentation, the author explained that she wanted readers to feel how Luka experiences his emotions.
According to Modre novice, the novel also raises questions about the individual’s role in society, intergenerational bonds and the weight of social expectations. The ending remains open – without simple catharsis and without any guarantee that life can be neatly resolved.
Read “Jeben lajf: A Novel About the Fate of Three Generations” in Modre novice
Story Generators: Maja Drolec
In July 2024, an almost hour-long episode of Story Generators (Generatorji zgodb) on Radio AGORA was also devoted to the novel Fucking Life.
In the programme’s presentation, the novel is described as a narrative that enters into the “very heart of family drama”. Particular emphasis is placed on the difference between the languages of the two protagonists: Luka’s jargon is not merely a sign of rebellion but a reflection of his internally shattered world, while Mojca turns to books and reading during the most difficult periods of her life.
“Maja Drolec writes for life and attempts to give it an inner meaning.”
The programme also reads the novel as a kind of homage to literature: real life can be brutal, but literature remains one of the spaces through which human beings attempt to understand it.
Listen to Story Generators – Maja Drolec: Fucking Life
Presentation at the Ljubljana City Library
In October 2024, the novel was also presented at the Oton Župančič Library in Ljubljana, where Gabriela Babnik Ouattara spoke with Maja Drolec. On the occasion of the event, the Ljubljana City Library wrote that the themes of family breakdown, late pregnancy, drug use and the question of home are expressed in “poetic yet precise language that brings things and life into the open.”
Presentation of the novel at the Ljubljana City Library
When the Stories of Mother and Son Mirror One Another
One of the novel’s distinctive features is its dual perspective. Mojca attempts to understand the breakdown of her own life and her role as a mother, while Luka speaks from a place of addiction, anger, loneliness and gradual exclusion from the community.
The two stories do not unfold alongside one another; rather, they are reflected in each other. This is precisely why the novel does not offer a simple answer to the question of who is to blame for a “fucking life”.
As stated in the presentation of the book by Hirondelle:
“The stories of mother and son are reflected in each other, while leaving it to the reader to consider what it is that causes someone to belong to or be excluded from a community.”
Fucking Life is thus a novel about addiction, but it is just as much a novel about family. About the lack of love and the consequences of divorce. About parents and children who love one another but nevertheless do not always know how to reach each other. About a life in which there is no single truth and in which everyone must ultimately ask themselves how much of what we carry is truly our own – and how much we have inherited.
Reviews and Responses:
🔴 “An interesting, socially relevant and, above all, emotionally deeply written story.” — Dr Igor Čuhalev
Igor Čuhalev: The Family Spiral
In the accompanying essay “The Family Spiral” (Družinska vijačnica), which is also published at the end of the novel, Dr Igor Čuhalev emphasises the multigenerational structure of the narrative and the way in which painful memories are passed down from generation to generation.
As he writes:
“Painful memories are passed down through generations and can cause ever new pain.”
In his assessment, the novel is also distinguished by its two narrative voices, which do not offer the reader a single, definitive truth. Mojca’s and Luka’s perspectives complement each other, diverge and return to the past, which means that readers must judge for themselves questions of responsibility, guilt and possible ways out.
Čuhalev concludes his assessment of the novel with the words:
“An interesting, socially relevant and, above all, emotionally deeply written story.”
