The Lazarus Project Audiobook

" This is one of the best books I have read in years. I finished reading it last night and wanted to start reading it all over again. This book speaks to me on so many levels. It's a story of a Bosnian immigrant, a writer, living in the States with his American wife; it's a story about Sarajevo during the war and after; it's a story about Jewish (and other) immigrants living in Chicago at the beginning of the previous century; it's a murder mystery.... And it's written so damn well. I can' believe I haven't discovered Hemon till now; I want to read everything he has ever written. "

" It was average. I liked it enough to finish it, and the pictures at the beginning of every chapter were a nice touch. "

" This one was a little disappointing. I kept waiting to be drawn into the present day character's story, and it never really happened. "

" I can't make up my mind about this book. On the one hand I zipped through it in less than a day, but on the other hand I just don't know what to make of it. The writing is certainly very impressive, particularly since English is not the author's native language - he has a lovely lyrical style, very wistful and vague in tone, which quite suits the story. But the story is the problem - I was never quite sure of where it was going or what the point of it was. The parallel storylines - one set in turn-of-the-century Chicago and the other in the modern day - had potential, but they never seemed to quite gel. I never really got to understand any of the characters, and the main narrator, Brik, isn't the most sympathetic of characters. I finished this book unable to decide whether the fault was in the book or in me, whether I had perhaps missed the point somehow. "

" I mostly really liked this book, and I think it mostly works. I ran out of steam around the last third of the book, as the arc didn't really feel like it was arcing, and both narratives were trending sad-ward. But the ending felt right, and the writing was enjoyable and buoyant throughout. Loved the Susie grant. "

" At this point is seems highly unlikely Hemon will write anything that isn't marvelous, as every page of his work is of the highest caliber. This is a great book, one that blends history - the murder of a Jewish immigrant by the chief of police in Chicago at the turn of the century - with a complex search for identity and truth in the contemporary work (the narrator travels through the Ukraine as "research"). Hemon is a great artist and this is a great book. "

" I can't remember what Hemon's other books where about, but I remember enjoying them a bit, so I was looking forward to reading The Lazarus Project. It is seeped in historical research, which might have been a deterrent since I am not well informed of the 90s conflicts in Bosnia. However, Hemon's pace seems right and he always has a good sense of resolution: one that is not annoyingly obvious. The book revealed new/disturbing information, but could be too self-involved/reflective at times. But always with a wink. "

" Meh, it looked promising. "

" Disturbing portrayal of prejudice and living as an expatriate "

" Enjoyed the juggling storylines. I also enjoyed the dark ride- "

" A strong 3.5 stars. Will review after book club. "

" Another fabulous book by Aleksandar Hemon. Witty, sad, realistic. Part of my love for his writing stems from working with Bosnians and his writing reminds me of them. Not a false note in the book. "

" "what do you mean English is like this guys third language?" "

" I started out really liking it, but it just got worse as it went along. The author just got too whiny. "

" Eh, this book was ok. The storyline could have been great, but it never really went anywhere, and in the end, nothing really happens "

" Pretty decent, I enjoyed it. "

" Damn, this is a good book. "

" Could I write a book as good in Bosnian? I'm guessing no. "

" This book didn't quite make five stars but four is not enough. Three and a half years later I can remember its flavours and would recommend it highly. Aleksanar Hemon is a fine writer and story teller. "

" here we find real, true emotion. the pain of memory, the pain of personal dissolution, the pain we see when one people are made to fear and suspect another. here we find beautiful, dense prose, and a narrative structure that labors intently to keep the reader moving. "

" I loved the history portion of this book - the flashbacks to life for immigrants in Chicago - but I didn't love the other portion - the story of the man writing about the history. "

" A very strange book, I found. In one way it gripped me in another it didn't. It's a strange loose story that doesn't quite come together. I realise it was probably the author's intention that it doesn't come together. But I'm afraid I wanted it to and it failed me there... "

" Hemon cleverly weaves the narratives of the author and his subject. One falls in love with Bosnia and also comes to know and appreciate the struggles that so called anarchists went through as they did their part to make America continue to evolve. "

" I really wanted to like this more, but I just couldn't. Rora's stories are the best part. "

" A really good book. Sometimes I found it difficult to get past that lack of quotation marks for the conversational prose, but the story is quite interesting and I found Hemon's reflections on life via the main character very profound. "

" I love Aleksandar Hemon's writing, his voice, I like his characters, but I'm not the biggest fan of this story. It was good, but... "

" Really amazing and funny and incredibly sad. A little toooo similar in terms of plot/thematic content/structure/character to Everything is Illuminated but still totally great. "

" A self-absorbed writer gratuitously makes himself the main character in a book about writing a book. Really not all that promising of a premise, but it has its moments. "

" One of my favorite novels written in the past 3 years. Written with comic brio and feeling. Hemon's best-realized long work to this date. "