Aleksandar Hemon

About the Author

Aleksandar Hemon was born in Sarajevo. He lives in Chicago. (Bowker Author Biography)

Includes the names: A. Hemon, Alexander hemon, Aleksander Hemon, Aleksandar Hemon, Aleksandar Hemon ed., Aleksandar Hemon (Author), Александр Хемон

Image credit: By Slowking4 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/73455099@N07/48659500083/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83848349

Series

The Pronek Fantasies

Aleksandar Hemon Short Stories

Works by Aleksandar Hemon

Popular Recent

The Lazarus Project (2008) 1,280 copies, 50 reviews

Nowhere Man: The Pronek Fantasies (2002) 631 copies, 19 reviews

The Question of Bruno: Stories (2000) 476 copies, 11 reviews

Love and Obstacles (2009) 284 copies, 10 reviews

The Book of My Lives {original edition} (2013) 268 copies, 13 reviews

The World and All That It Holds (2023) 181 copies, 4 reviews

Best European Fiction 2010 (2009) — Editor — 167 copies, 3 reviews

The Making of Zombie Wars (2015) 145 copies, 7 reviews

Best European Fiction 2011 (2010) — Editor — 109 copies, 3 reviews

Best European Fiction 2012 (2011) — Editor — 75 copies, 2 reviews

Best European Fiction 2013 (2012) — Editor — 74 copies

The Book of My Lives {expanded edition} (2014) 62 copies

My Parents: An Introduction / This Does Not Belong to You (2019) — Author — 58 copies, 1 review

The Matters of Life, Death, and More: Writing on Soccer (2014) 10 copies

Exchange of Pleasant Words and A Coin (2006) 9 copies

Behind the Glass Wall: Inside the United Nations (2023) 6 copies

Good Living [short story] 4 copies, 1 review

Die Welt und alles, was sie enthält: Roman | »Ein atemberaubender Roman von ebenso großer Schönheit wie… (2024) 3 copies

Hemonwood (2003) 3 copies

The Kauders Case {story} 2 copies

Il mondo e tutto ciò che contiene (Italian Edition) (2023) 2 copies

MIEI GENITORI/TUTTO QUESTO NON (2022) 2 copies

The Drawer {story} (2004) 1 copy

BEST EUROPEAN FICTION 2010 EBK 1 copy

שאלת ברונו (2001) 1 copy

Un monde de ciel et de terre 1 copy

Moji roditelji: uvod (2019) 1 copy

Meine Eltern / Alles nicht dein Eigen (2021) 1 copy

My Prisoner (2015) 1 copy

Accordion {story} 1 copy

Howler: A Magazine About Soccer (Issue One) (2012) 1 copy

Howler: A Magazine About Soccer (Issue Two) (2013) 1 copy

Twenty-Minute Stories [short story] 1 copy

Hemon Aleksandar 1 copy

The Liar {story} 1 copy

Nowhere Man: The "Lost" Pronek Fantasies (Dawn; The Drawer) (2002) 1 copy

The Conductor {story} 1 copy

Blind Jozef Pronek {story} 1 copy

A questão de Bruno 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

The Book of Other People (2008) — Contributor — 756 copies, 14 reviews

The Tenants (1971) — Introduction, some editions — 581 copies, 7 reviews

The Best American Short Stories 2006 (2006) — Contributor — 559 copies, 8 reviews

The Best American Short Stories 1999 (1999) — Contributor — 462 copies

The Best American Short Stories 2000 (2000) — Contributor — 400 copies, 2 reviews

Garden, Ashes (1965) — Introduction, some editions — 365 copies, 12 reviews

McSweeney's Issue 12: Unpublished, Unknown, and/or Unbelievable (2003) — Contributor — 285 copies, 4 reviews

The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories (2004) — Contributor — 272 copies, 9 reviews

Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story (2012) — Introduction — 227 copies, 9 reviews

Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases (2020) — Contributor — 205 copies, 4 reviews

The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives (2018) — Contributor — 166 copies, 4 reviews

The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup (2006) — Contributor — 160 copies, 4 reviews

Granta 68: Love Stories (1999) — Contributor — 154 copies, 1 review

The Best of McSweeney's {complete} (2013) — Contributor — 148 copies, 1 review

Granta 108: Chicago (2009) — Contributor — 144 copies, 1 review

Granta 72: Overreachers (2000) — Contributor — 133 copies, 1 review

Granta 103: The Rise of the British Jihad (2008) — Contributor — 106 copies

McSweeney's Issue 3: Windfall Republic (2002) — Contributor — 95 copies, 1 review

The Matrix Resurrections [2021 film] (2022) — Writer, some editions — 93 copies, 1 review

Granta 118: Exit Strategies (2012) — Contributor — 84 copies, 2 reviews

The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story (2021) — Contributor — 71 copies

McSweeney's Issue 42 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern): Multiples (2013) — Translator/Contributor — 64 copies, 2 reviews

My Heart: A Novel (2017) — Introduction, some editions — 55 copies, 3 reviews

Bestial Noise: The Tin House Fiction Reader (2003) — Contributor — 50 copies

Rust Belt Chicago: An Anthology (Belt City Anthologies) (2017) — Contributor — 27 copies

Selected Shorts: New American Stories (2011) — Contributor — 17 copies, 1 review

Tagged

21st century (57) American (63) American fiction (26) American literature (82) anthology (408) ARC (21) Best American Series (30) Bosnia (100) Chicago (112) collection (37) Eastern Europe (28) ebook (24) essays (82) fiction (941) first edition (36) goodreads (23) Granta (82) historical fiction (49) immigrants (61) immigration (27) literary journal (26) literature (85) McSweeney's (71) memoir (36) non-fiction (100) novel (75) own (41) read (64) Sarajevo (45) short fiction (36) short stories (752) short story (23) signed (55) soccer (32) stories (80) to-read (535) unread (73) USA (53) wishlist (36) Yugoslavia (26)

Common Knowledge

Birthdate: 1964-09-09
Gender: male
Nationality: Bosnia
USA
Country (for map): Bosnia and Herzegovina
Birthplace: Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
Places of residence: Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina (formerly Yugoslavia)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Education: University of Sarajevo (Literature, 1990)
Northwestern University (M.A., English Literature)
Occupations: short story writer
novelist
columnist
critic
Awards and honors: MacArthur Fellowship (2004)
Guggenheim Fellowship (2003)
Chicago Public Library Foundation's 21st Century Award
Illinois Art Council Literary Award, Fiction ( [1998])
PEN/W.G. Sebald Award (2011)
John Dos Passos Prize (2020)

Members

Reviews

The World and All That It Holds by Aleksandar Hemon

The outbreak of the first world war takes Rafael away from Sarajevo, where he had been looking after the family's pharmacy after studies in Vienna. The Austro-Hungarian troops, reflecting the diverse population, fight in Galicia. From there, Rafael and his lover Osman end up in Tashkent and the turmoil of the Russian civil war. From there, events slowly push Rafael further to east. He's lost Osman, but Osman and the memory of Sarajevo is still very much present for him while he tries to look after his daughter Rahela. I thought the first half of the book worked better than the second—perhaps because of a greater sense of self and place and time earlier, whereas later Rafael is so trapped up in opium and his memories and dreams.… (more)

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mari_reads | 3 other reviews | Aug 31, 2024 |

The World and All That It Holds: Aleksandar Hemon by Aleksandar Hemon

I'm still not entirely sure what to think of [b:The World and All That It Holds|60784834|The World and All That It Holds|Aleksandar Hemon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667337510l/60784834._SY75_.jpg|95849571]. It's a bit tough to read as the plot is a catalogue of suffering, yet I found the writing style evocative and the use of multiple languages interesting. The central love story between two soldiers who meet in trenches of the First World War is rather lovely, but surprisingly transitory and elusive - I assume this was the point? The two can't just be happy together in peace, as they were constantly threatened by violent death. Depictions of opium use, improvised surgery, urban warfare, and refugees fleeing violence are vivid, with memorable material details. Ultimately it didn't quite manage to be the epic historical love story I was hoping for, although I still appreciated how well it was crafted. The references to Moser's memoirs as a way that Osman and Pinto are remembered work rather well. On the other hand, the themes of love and death are baldly stated so often in the text that I think they lose some impact:

Pinto once saw an entire family dead, mother, father, and a baby still leaning against a wall; they fell asleep and never woke up. The endless dream. The meaning of life is not to be dead; you live so as not to die. That's it. Ask any soldier or refugee, anyone who has lived through a war, or any of those children still alive and begging for a handful of rice on Nanking Road. Ask Lenka. All we want from life is to keep living. It's that simple. Only the rich ponder a reason to live. Everyone else who is alive just wants to live. There is no meaning to it, any more than there is meaning to time. There is just life. When there is no life, there is no meaning.

I also wasn't convinced by the apparent authorial self-insert in the final chapter. Potentially I'm being uncharitable by giving only three stars, but I was expecting to be moved rather than appreciative of the skilful writing.… (more)

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annarchism | 3 other reviews | Aug 4, 2024 |

The World and All That It Holds: A Novel by Aleksandar Hemon

This is a novel of epic proportions about life and love and death and war. It’s philosophical and poetic and evocative following Pinto, an introspective poet, whose love for fellow soldier Osman takes us on a journey across countries and continents and decades. A dense and emotive read, this is one I had to read in chunks sporadically—definitely not a quick read (for me).

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lizallenknapp | 3 other reviews | Apr 20, 2024 |

The World and All That It Holds: A Novel by Aleksandar Hemon

A little disorienting when I began reading the first pages, but this novel soon gelled in ways I found unexpected. A vibrant, heartbreaking story told impeccably. A take on what it means to be without country but sustained by love.

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vscauzzo | 3 other reviews | Jan 29, 2024 |

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