A Bosnian, living in Chicago with his American wife, stumbles on an old news story about the death of Lazarus, a Jewish immigrant at the beginning of the twentieth century. He becomes intrigued, obtains a literary grant and with a photographer friend goes to Bosnia to trace Lazarus’ roots. Bosnia now, as then, is a dog-eat-dog place, grim and full of bigotry and fear. This is a circular tale with history repeating itself, a bleak, intelligent novel from a dynamic author much praised by the literary world.
On 2 March 1908, Lazarus Averbuch, a young Russian Jewish immigrant to Chicago, tried to deliver a letter to the city’s Chief of Police. He was shot dead.
After the shooting, it was claimed he was an anarchist assassin and an agent of foreign operatives who wanted to bring the United States to its knees. His sister, Olga, was left alone and bereft in a city seething with tension.
A century later, two friends become obsessed with the truth about Lazarus and decide to travel to his birthplace. As the stories intertwine, a world emerges in which everything and nothing has changed . . .
'Prose this powerful could wake the dead' Observer
'This is easily Hemon’s best work to date, an intricately tessellated portrait of flight, emigration, and the meaning of home' Evening Standard
Author
About Aleksandar Hemon
Born in Sarajevo, Aleksandar Hemon wrote his first story in English in 1995. He is the author The Question of Bruno, Nowhere Man, and a new collection of stories, Love and Obstacles. He lives in Chicago.
