On Wednesday 14th March we were honoured that Sarajevo-born writer Aleksandar Hemon joined us to discuss his latest novel ‘The Book Of Our Lives’. The Newcastle audience was given a rare insight into the author who has been described as ‘the greatest writer of our generation’ (Colum McCann).
‘The Book Of Our Lives’ has been described by Hemon as ‘a
love letter to two cities’- his Native Sarajevo and adopted Chicago. Hemon read
from a chapter of the book entitled ‘If God existed, he’d be a solid midfielder’.
Divorced from his homeland, the moment Hemon realized he could settle in
Chicago was the moment he felt ingratiated into the football team he played
with there.
Albert Camus said that everything he knew about the obligations of men he owed to football. During a reading Hemon unpacked all the promise of this statement, with his amusing anecdote of a portly, demonstrative player he once knew called Lido. Lido talked a great game, and was able after each match to offer great analysis on the limitations of other players whilst contributing little during play himself. Through Hemon’s work such characters were celebrated- people who offered bursts of colour during their life but who were often unmourned in their death.
Hemon then entered into a discussion of his life and work with William Fiennes, a novelist who also incorporates similar character studies in his work. Their conversation took in Nabokov, the culture of memoirs (‘the awful word contains me and moi’) and Hemon’s time at the UN. Hemon recounted how at their conferences every nation represented had the opportunity to offer input on reports- a crushingly slow process of democracy but one to which he could see no alternative. Throughout the evening Hemon offered the audience piercing, witty and generous insights into his life and work.
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