Nowhere Man by Aleksander Hemon

Nowhere Man

Aleksander Hemon

A fractured tale of alienation chronicles Jozef Pronek's progress through angst-ridden adolescence and arrival in the USA just in time to watch war break out back home in Sarajevo. Subversive and likely to appeal to those with a sense of the absurd, this most definitely is not the American dream.

Extract
'Where are you from?' she asked him.
'Bosnia.'
'I am sorry.'
'But I live here now, for five years.'
'I am still sorry.'
'It is not your fault.'

She had short spiky hair, with a crest heaving over her forehead, above her sparkling eyes. Her upper lip, dark cherry red, had the shape of a musketeer mustache. She had a dimple in her chin. She had cheek apples Pronek wanted to touch.

'When you're done staring at my face, I can show you my tits too.'

Parallels
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
  • Good Soldier Svejk and his Fortunes in the World War by Jaroslav Hasek
  • Made in Yugoslavia by Vladimir Jokanovic