968. Nowhere Man

Nowhere Man
Aleksandar Hemon
2002
Around 245 pages

After a string of very unpleasant novels, it's nice to come to this one. Not that this was an uplifting read, but it at least felt like it was saying something new. 

The novel is more of a series of vignettes than an overarching narrative, but we get the story of Jozef Pronek, a Ukranian man born in Bosnia. Pronek spends his childhood in Sarajevo, his university years in the Soviet Union, and his adulthood in Chicago.

The point of view was refreshing here, and the story was presented in a refreshing way, although I do think it sort of went off the rails toward the end. It was interesting seeing the world interpreted through this character's experience. I didn't find his style that compelling, but the action moved along quickly enough that this didn't feel like an exhausting read.

And hey, the bar has pretty low lately, so I'll take this.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Named after the Beatles song, "Nowhere Man."

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