unicorndeburgh reviewed The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon
Review of 'The Lazarus Project' on 'Goodreads'
An amazing, and unsettling, book. The story alternates between the past and present. The present is the story of a Bosnian writer from Sarajevo, living in Chicago. He's researching the murder of a Jewish immigrant to Chicago, Lazarus Averbuch, that occurred in 1908. The story moves between that of Lazarus, and that of the modern-day writer, Brik.[return][return]The story of Lazarus reminded me, somewhat, of Doctorow's "Ragtime". You've got widespread prejudice, oppression, poverty, and police brutality. I adored the fierce, and indomitable Olga. She's the older sister of the young, murdered Lazarus, and she doesn't turn a hair.[return][return]The present-day story is disturbing, perhaps, because I start out liking the narrator, by default. I was initially reminded of Joseph O'Neill's novel, Netherland, where the narrator is also a well educated immigrant to America; however, in this book the narrator is darker, angrier. Of course, being a highly paid financial analyst and coming …
An amazing, and unsettling, book. The story alternates between the past and present. The present is the story of a Bosnian writer from Sarajevo, living in Chicago. He's researching the murder of a Jewish immigrant to Chicago, Lazarus Averbuch, that occurred in 1908. The story moves between that of Lazarus, and that of the modern-day writer, Brik.[return][return]The story of Lazarus reminded me, somewhat, of Doctorow's "Ragtime". You've got widespread prejudice, oppression, poverty, and police brutality. I adored the fierce, and indomitable Olga. She's the older sister of the young, murdered Lazarus, and she doesn't turn a hair.[return][return]The present-day story is disturbing, perhaps, because I start out liking the narrator, by default. I was initially reminded of Joseph O'Neill's novel, Netherland, where the narrator is also a well educated immigrant to America; however, in this book the narrator is darker, angrier. Of course, being a highly paid financial analyst and coming from Holland is a much sunnier situation than being from Sarajevo and more-or-less unemployed. As the story progresses, the narrator, Brik, reveals more and more of his anger and shortcomings. I'm generally fond of unreliable narrators, so I liked that, even as I found him disturbing. The portrait that the book paints of central Europe is fascinating.
