The Question of Bruno

I have learned about this writer and his first published book by reading the "Books" section of the Chicago Tribune. One can count on their fingers contemporary writers from Eastern Europe whose work is recongized here: Danilo Kis, Milorad Pavic, Dubravka Ugresic, Slavenka Drakulic to name a few. However, the works of Aleksandar Hemon stand out. This is the first (slavic) writer who actually wrote his works in his second language (english). It took a lot of courage to do so. And do not think that this book will be some sort of exploitation on the theme of the civil war in former Yugoslavia. It is a complex collection of the stories which all have something in common between them. Written by the writer from Bosnia who is not Muslim, or Croat, or Serb, but rather tries to separate his own nationality by calling himself Bosnian of the Ukranian descent. The stories will take you not only thru his experience in Bosnia but also one learns about (Eastern European)immigrant life in Chicago. Mr. Hemon's stories can be heavy at times and he knows just the right moment to add some comic element in it that will lift reader up. In either case, these are provocative stories that will make you think about them, long after you finished reading the book. I am hoping to see more work from this talented writer in the near future.

I felt initially unsure as to how to digest Hemon's words, desiring (yet unable) to place him in an US or BiH (or other, defined) context. As his writing progresses (as no story stands independently), his words create their own space. This new context/environment seems to (in an intentionally awkward sense of stability) rest on echoes -- echoes of past and present of conflicting culture and ideology. This tension, an eerie discomfort, formed a challenge, forcing me to return to thoughts I had once chosen to push away. My strongest admiration for Hemon and for his abilities.

A collection of vivid episodes that come forth so fresh, and with such bracing clarity, that it elevates the exercise of reading to something else--a great understanding, maybe. No one is writing like Hemon. I can't think of another writer who sends his dispatches with such orginality--except for Denis Johnson.

I was blown away by these stories - A Coin left me breathless, I haven't read such an impressive story about war since Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. Islands was a beauty, with a truly disturbing layer of brutal politics and history lying underneath the tale of a family holiday. I could go on about all the stories but I don't want to give too much away. Hemon is a fantastic writer.

This is one of the best literary debuts I've ever read--no, scratch that; make it "one of the best literary WORKS." The author is a recent immigrant to the U.S. and has only just learned how to speak and write in English, yet what he accomplished in this brilliant collection of stories is simply amazing. I've heard him being compared to Nabokov (another immigrant for whom English isn't the native language), and I can honestly say that such hyped-up comparison, for once, is accurate. Some of the stories here are outright autobiographical, some of them are highly experimental, but almost all of them are historical, recounting stories from the recent atrocities in Sarajevo to the last days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I would say that if you like literature in general, and particularly if you love writers such as Nabokov, Bulgakov, and Borges, you'll not want to pass this one up. It's superb! Absolutely first-rate stuff!