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corinth11's review against another edition
3.0
I thought I would like this book more than I did. It's about a contemporary Bosnian-American writer who is researching the story of a Jewish immigrant shot to death by the Chicago chief of police in 1908. The book shifts back and forth between the story of the 1908 murder and its aftermath and the writer's travels in Eastern Europe. I found the 1908 sections much more interesting and wanted the book to live there more. I'm not sure I really understood the writer's struggles like I was supposed to.
sloatsj's review against another edition
4.0
Two interlinked stories told in parallel. The first focuses on Lazarus, an eastern European Jew who emigrates to the US in the early 1900s in the wake of a pogrom. Lazarus, who lives in poverty with his sister Olga, is killed by Chicago's police chief when he shows up at his house, suspected of being an assassin sent by anarachists. It's a sad story. The second story is about another eastern European immigrant in Chicago a hundred years later, a writer named Brik who wins grant money and begins researching a book on Lazarus. Yes, of course, he resurrects him.
There are a number of parallels between the stories, including similar experiences and fringe characters with the same names. Although these are mostly despondent tales of alienation, disillusionment and suffering, the book has its exciting and funny moments, especially involving the character of Rora, a photographer Brik takes along on his research trip to Eastern Europe.
"Let me tell you a joke, Rora said. Mujo is a refugee in Germany, has no job, but has lots of time, so he goes to a Turkish bath. The bath is full of German businessmen with towels around their waists, huffing & puffing, but every once in a while a cell phone rings & they pull their phone out from under the towel & say, Bitte? Mujo seems to be the only one without a cell phone, so he goes to the bathroom & stuffs toilet paper up his butt. He walks back out, a long trail of toilet paper behind him. So a German says, You have some paper, Herr, sticking out behind you. Oh, Mujo says, it looks like I have received a fax."
The book had its slow moments but is well written and moving and smart. I enjoyed it a lot, especially the second half. A blurb on the back cover compares Hemon to four different literary greats but then goes on the say he's like no one, etc etc, and that was the most annoying thing about this book.
There are a number of parallels between the stories, including similar experiences and fringe characters with the same names. Although these are mostly despondent tales of alienation, disillusionment and suffering, the book has its exciting and funny moments, especially involving the character of Rora, a photographer Brik takes along on his research trip to Eastern Europe.
"Let me tell you a joke, Rora said. Mujo is a refugee in Germany, has no job, but has lots of time, so he goes to a Turkish bath. The bath is full of German businessmen with towels around their waists, huffing & puffing, but every once in a while a cell phone rings & they pull their phone out from under the towel & say, Bitte? Mujo seems to be the only one without a cell phone, so he goes to the bathroom & stuffs toilet paper up his butt. He walks back out, a long trail of toilet paper behind him. So a German says, You have some paper, Herr, sticking out behind you. Oh, Mujo says, it looks like I have received a fax."
The book had its slow moments but is well written and moving and smart. I enjoyed it a lot, especially the second half. A blurb on the back cover compares Hemon to four different literary greats but then goes on the say he's like no one, etc etc, and that was the most annoying thing about this book.
ajkhn's review against another edition
5.0
Kinda surprised to see how low this is rated, I thought it was great (but I'm a sucker for Hemon, so I guess ymmv). It probably aged really well. Lots of reviews I see online are like "oh, this is a War on Terror book" but I think the whole point of connecting Lazarus Averbuch to the Post-Yugoslav Wars is that migration, fear, pogroms and stochastic-seeming violence are not tied to your particular political moment.
It would be interesting to read it across Everything is Illuminated, two books trying to find meaning in migration and loss. The catch being that Everything is Illuminated is presented as a very Jewish story, but Lazarus Project is an immigrant story. There's a lot of cleverness in Hemon's writing that lets the book stretch out further than its <300 pages. Like, his prose is really bleakly humorous, for sure. But there's also tons of jittery weirdness in the plot - less dreamy than glitchy - that have me scratching my head about it.
I kind of wish there was mention in there of Shippy's psychological collapse after killing Lazarus, connecting that to the violence elsewhere in Rora + Brik's trip. But maybe that would take focus away from Lazarus and Olga where it belongs, I dunno. Definitely a weird and unsettling book, which is a compliment in this case.
It would be interesting to read it across Everything is Illuminated, two books trying to find meaning in migration and loss. The catch being that Everything is Illuminated is presented as a very Jewish story, but Lazarus Project is an immigrant story. There's a lot of cleverness in Hemon's writing that lets the book stretch out further than its <300 pages. Like, his prose is really bleakly humorous, for sure. But there's also tons of jittery weirdness in the plot - less dreamy than glitchy - that have me scratching my head about it.
I kind of wish there was mention in there of Shippy's psychological collapse after killing Lazarus, connecting that to the violence elsewhere in Rora + Brik's trip. But maybe that would take focus away from Lazarus and Olga where it belongs, I dunno. Definitely a weird and unsettling book, which is a compliment in this case.
zisi's review against another edition
5.0
I've always been drawn to writers for whom English is a second language. The best have a fresh, off-beat perspective and bring a renewed vigor to English. (Think: Conrad, Nabokov, Vikram Chandra, Salmon Rushdie, Gary Shteyngart.) I also find translations, no matter how good, frustrating, so reading foreign-born authors in their original language (English!) is exciting and liberating. Hemon, who was born in Bosnia and is now a U.S. citizen, is a master stylist, a great storyteller, and deserves the accolades he's received. Highly recommended.
nappower's review against another edition
3.0
liked this more in the beginning than by the end but might have been not really connecting with the characters, but some of the turns of phrase are surprising in a delightful way.
rachel_mft's review against another edition
3.0
Technically and stylistically, this was excellent. The writing is just masterful, especially for someone who's not a native speaker. It's funny and incisive and constantly surprising. And the story is complex and so insightful. But. I just wasn't at all invested in it, or in the characters, and that kept it from being a great book. It was just something I read and then finished.
jessidbee's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
mscherer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
graco's review against another edition
3.25
Some thoughtful introspective moments and interesting form with the juxtaposition of past/present stories.