Guest-blogger Alex Smith tells us more below.
Eye-catching composition not intentional.
In 2000 I got a fantastic Christmas present from my longtime friend and onetime Babbitt's employee, Lynn Bulgrin. The Question of Bruno introduced me to the Chicago-by-way-of-Sarajevo author, Aleksandar Hemon. He has that sly and world-weary style that you find in many Slavic writers. His works are semi-autobiographical and they fictionalize his early years in America and especially Chicago. Those of you who are familiar with the city will find his stories vividly illuminated with familiar Chicago landmarks and neighborhoods. Hemon sees his adoptive city with the fresh eyes of a stranger. Oh, and his books are laugh-out-loud funny. Beware reading him in a public place!
Anyone who is reading this blog has likely spoken English longer than Hemon. Like Nabokov and Conrad he learned (and demonstrably mastered) English as an adult. He published his first story on English in 1995.
The Lazarus Project is a few shades darker than some of his previous books, dealing as it does with holocaust and institutionalized anti-Semitism. It has some tense and thrilling moments too, showing another side to an author who previously was happy to ramble, albeit in the most entertaining way.
Illustrated with photographs taken by a friend of the author, this signed (signed!) copy is a steal at $25. You'd better buy it quick before I change my mind and buy it for myself!
Title: The Lazarus Project
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Year: 2008
Features: Signed, First edition
Condition: Very Good+
Price: $25
Title: The Lazarus Project
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Year: 2008
Features: First edition
Condition: Very Good+
Price: $15
Thanks for this, Alex and Sarah!
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