'The Lazarus Project' Takes A Meta-Fictional Look At History

I've always marveled at the handful of literary artists who earn their reputations writing in a second language. Joseph Conrad comes to mind, as well as Vladimir Nabokov, both of whom achieved mastery in English after immigrating to English-speaking countries. Although he isn't as prolific as these forbears, at least not yet, Bosnian-born Aleksandar Hemon deserves to be grouped in their company. Hemon visited Chicago in 1992, intending to return to Bosnia, but Sarajevo came under siege during his absence, the war was on and he was unable to return. He has lived in Chicago ever since, publishing a short-story collection called "The Question of Bruno" in 2000, a novel called "Nowhere Man" in 2002 and now "The Lazarus Project." This latest novel is a quasi-autobiographical, time-traveling, globe-trotting, historical fiction, as... [read full story]