First published 2009
Bogdan first appears as a sullen teenager in Zaire, where his diplomat father's posting introduces him to a corrupt American spy who becomes his unlikely mentor. Each story follows Bogdan through different phases of his life as he recalls the strange moments that shaped him. He grows up in an eccentric family, nurtures dreams of becoming a poet, and finds himself accidentally stranded in America when war breaks out in Bosnia. Unable to return home, he builds a new life in Chicago's immigrant communities. Eventually he makes it back to Bosnia, where he spends a revelatory evening interviewing a famous American writer who won the Pulitzer Prize. The 1992 Bosnian conflict casts its shadow over every story, whether Bogdan is navigating the backwaters of Slovenia, the streets of Chicago, or the heart of Africa. Hemon captures the absurd and painful moments of a life lived between worlds, finding humor in displacement and meaning in the margins.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, african-literature, coming-of-age, biographical-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Zaire, Bosnia, Chicago, Slovenia
Period: 1992, 20th-century, 21st-century
210 pages · Hardcover · Picador
Content warnings: war