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Love and Obstacles
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Love and Obstacles Hardback - 2009

by Hemon, Aleksandar

A new book of linked stories by theauthor of the National Book Award finalistThe Lazarus Project.

Aleksandar Hemon earned his reputation-and his MacArthur "genius grant"-for hisshort stories, and he returns to the form witha powerful collection of linked stories thatstands with The Lazarus Project as the bestwork of his celebrated career. A few of thestories have never been published before;the others have appeared in The New Yorker,and several of those have also been includedin The Best American Short Stories. Allare infused with the dazzling, astonishinglycreative prose and the remarkable, hauntingautobiographical elements that have distinguishedHemon as one of the most originaland illustrious voices of our time.

What links the stories in Love and Obstaclesis the narrator, a young man who-likeHemon himself-was raised in Yugoslaviaand immigrated to the United States. Thestories of Love and Obstacles are about thatcoming of age and the complications-theobstacles-of growing up in a Communistbut cosmopolitan country, and the disintegrationof that country and the consequentuprooting and move to America in youngadulthood. But because it's AleksandarHemon, the stories extend far beyond theimmigrant experience; each one is punctuatedwith unexpected humor and spins outin fabulist, exhilarating directions, ultimatelybuilding to an insightful, often heartbreakingconclusion. Woven together, thesestories comprise a book that is, genuinely,as cohesive and powerful as any fiction-achingly human, charming, and inviting.


Summary


A new book of linked stories by the author of the National Book Award finalist The Lazarus Project.

Aleksandar Hemon earned his reputation- and his MacArthur "genius grant"-for his short stories, and he returns to the form with a powerful collection of linked stories that stands with The Lazarus Project as the best work of his celebrated career. A few of the stories have never been published before; the others have appeared in The New Yorker, and several of those have also been included in The Best American Short Stories. All are infused with the dazzling, astonishingly creative prose and the remarkable, haunting autobiographical elements that have distinguished Hemon as one of the most original and illustrious voices of our time.

What links the stories in Love and Obstacles is the narrator, a young man who-like Hemon himself-was raised in Yugoslavia and immigrated to the United States. The stories of Love and Obstacles are about that coming of age and the complications-the obstacles-of growing up in a Communist but cosmopolitan country, and the disintegration of that country and the consequent uprooting and move to America in young adulthood. But because it's Aleksandar Hemon, the stories extend far beyond the immigrant experience; each one is punctuated with unexpected humor and spins out in fabulist, exhilarating directions, ultimately building to an insightful, often heartbreaking conclusion. Woven together, these stories comprise a book that is, genuinely, as cohesive and powerful as any fiction- achingly human, charming, and inviting.

From the publisher

A new book of linked stories by the author of the National Book Award finalist "The Lazarus Project."
Aleksandar Hemon earned his reputation- and his MacArthur "genius grant"-for his short stories, and he returns to the form with a powerful collection of linked stories that stands with "The Lazarus Project" as the best work of his celebrated career. A few of the stories have never been published before; the others have appeared in "The New Yorker," and several of those have also been included in "The Best American Short Stories." All are infused with the dazzling, astonishingly creative prose and the remarkable, haunting autobiographical elements that have distinguished Hemon as one of the most original and illustrious voices of our time. What links the stories in "Love and Obstacles" is the narrator, a young man who-like Hemon himself-was raised in Yugoslavia and immigrated to the United States. The stories of "Love and Obstacles" are about that coming of age and the complications-the obstacles-of growing up in a Communist but cosmopolitan country, and the disintegration of that country and the consequent uprooting and move to America in young adulthood. But because it's Aleksandar Hemon, the stories extend far beyond the immigrant experience; each one is punctuated with unexpected humor and spins out in fabulist, exhilarating directions, ultimately building to an insightful, often heartbreaking conclusion. Woven together, these stories comprise a book that is, genuinely, as cohesive and powerful as any fiction- achingly human, charming, and inviting.

Details

  • Title Love and Obstacles
  • Author Hemon, Aleksandar
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 224
  • Language EN
  • Publisher Riverhead Hardcover, New York
  • Date 2009-05-14
  • ISBN 9781594488641

Media reviews

"Bosnian-born Hemon (The Lazarus Project) again beautifully twists the language in this collection of eight powerful and disquieting stories. The 1992 Bosnian war colors in the background of all the tales, whose settings range from Africa to Chicago and Sarajevo. Arranged chronologically, all but one feature a Hemon-like narrator named Bogdan, first met as a surly teenager during his diplomat father's assignment in Zaire, where he's happily corrupted by a degenerate American espionage agent. In each successive story, Bogdan recalls the surreal and salient experiences of his life: his youth with his ironically depicted family; his early determination to be a poet, his accidental sojourn in America, where he was caught after the commencement of hostilities in Bosnia; and his return to a "cesspool of insignificant, drizzly suffering," where he has a transformative night interviewing a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. Hemon arranges words like gems in a necklace. A necktie is "stretched across the chair seat, like a severed tendon"; a car is "stickered with someone else's thought"; a character's teeth are "like organ pipes." Writing with steely control and an antic eye, Hemon has assembled another extraordinary work."-Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

About the author

Aleksandar Hemon is the author of "The" "Lazarus Project," "Love and Obstacles, The Question of Bruno," "Nowhere Man "and "The Book of MyLives." He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Genius Award, the Jan Michalski Prize for Literature, the PEN/W. G. Sebald Award, and, most recently, a 2012 USA Fellowship. He lives in Chicago."
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Love and Obstacles
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Love and Obstacles

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Love and Obstacles

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