Review by Frank Plowright

Kasia Babis was born in 1992, shortly after the old Soviet Union collapsed and associated states discarded Communist governments, Poland among them. A time of uncertainty during which much changed is mentioned, but it’s 2005 before we pick up on Kasia in high school, which stretches the definition of Post-Soviet Poland mentioned in the subtitle. Rather than her being shaped by those times, her life is guided by people who lived through them, and indeed the hardships of the Communist era.

The title comes from a head teacher angry at the casual dropping of breadcrumbs as Kasia eats a sandwich. The suspicion is the subtitle is an attempt to make the life of a teenager and twenty something stand out, as much that’s related is common to rebellious teens throughout the world. For a fair while the far more interesting character is Kasia’s friend Monika, whose mother takes religious devotion into borderline insanity.

A jumpy narrative style is employed, with Babis referring to an event, then backtracking by saying she’s getting ahead of herself, and between several people. With the exception of a few moments of relatively recent Polish history much of the first half lacks anything that stands out. It’s when Kasia is older that Breadcrumbs really sparks into life, as we read about political activism, poor relationships and being set-up on a live political debate show.

Until then it’s the art making the greater impression. It’s solid cartooning defining people’s emotional states and creating a sense of place, while shifting tone slightly to realism when moving outside personal life. Being able to differentiate one person from another is important, as people recur throughout, looking slightly different as they age, and there’s never any visual confusion.

During the more interesting second half it becomes apparent why a fair bit of the first half was considered necessary. Babis continues to feature friends from her early teens as the years pass, but now via her contact instead of separate sequences, although some feature more than others. Because we know them it’s affecting, and how people turn out involves some well concealed surprises, although everything flows naturally, and there’s a coming to terms with how life was for the previous generation. Sketches provided after the story provide extra insight into life as it was.

The clumsy subtitle bothers, and it’s best to consider Breadcrumbs as how life was for Generation Z growing up in Poland. Always honest, on that basis it succeeds in becoming absorbing, while the art appeals throughout.