Readings, Rated
The Lazarus Project
Photo courtesy of Alan Del Rio Ortiz
I have finally finished The Lazarus Project, Aleksander Hemon’s new novel. All those comparisons to Nabokov? Accurate. No, really. I’ve read all his books, and although The Question of Bruno will always be my favorite, this came very close.
Last week, I had the privilege to attend his event at the Stop Smiling storefront, and it was really charming. After thirty minutes’ worth of reading, Hemon talked about Europe and how old isn’t necessarily good, since old grudges sometimes lead to acts of genocide. The evening ended with a slide show by Velibor Bozovik, Hemon’s best friend and the photographer responsible for many of the images in the novel. (There’s a really good interview with Bozovik here.)
Hemon himself is very tall, and there were several other very tall Eastern Europeans in attendance who did not get misty-eyed when confronted with the projected images of their homeland. Additionally, there were somewhere around 50 (?) others who gathered for the event, someone from WBEZ recorded it, and this guy was there. If you missed it, there should be photos and audio available that we’ll link to once they’re up.