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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
This collection of biographical essays is a mosaic of the lives lived by the author and those he has borrowed from others. But really at its heart it is a book about storytelling. From his childhood in Bosnia he chronicles his discovery of self, identity, and community through soccer, music, food, chess, and ultimately writing. He describes his family's displacement and immigration to Canada during the war while he is fortunate enough himself to have been selected for a cultural exchange program to the US just before the outbreak of war. He must discover a new home and a new story in Chicago. These essays are filled with humor and heartbreak and many wonderful stories.
I went into this knowing next to nothing about Bosnia and Herzegovina or the war that displaced Hemon and his family, so there was a lot of googling and learning going on. This collection absolutely floored me. I will definitely check out the author’s fiction next.
“I have learned since then that war is the most concrete thing there can be, a fantastic reality that levels both interiority and exteriority into the flatness of a crushed soul.”
“I have learned since then that war is the most concrete thing there can be, a fantastic reality that levels both interiority and exteriority into the flatness of a crushed soul.”
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A quote on the cover of this book says "The greatest writer of our generation". Not saying I agree, but I see why they said that.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Xenophobia, War
This book takes a totally unexpected and heartbreaking turn in the last 20 pages or so.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
The author spent the first half of his life in Bosnia before coming to the US and becoming a successful writer. These essays explore different periods in his life. Overall, I enjoyed his insights and liked the book, although I found it hard to relate to his young adult angst in Sarajevo. The essays on his life in the US and particularly the last essay titled The Aquarium are wonderfully written.