The Question of Bruno

This debut short story collection from Aleksandar Hemon blends fact and fiction as the Bosnian-born Chicago author tackles subjects as diverse as war and genocide, family history, espionage, relationships, and the immigrant experience.

It’s tough to evaluate a body of work whose parts are so formally disparate yet so thematically intertwined. With The Question of Bruno, Hemon doesn’t merely think outside the box, he obliterates it. The first story, “Islands,” is a series of brief, numbered chapterlets detailing an uncle’s struggle with Soviet oppression. Contrast that with “The Life and Work of Alphonse Cauders,” a fictional biography of a horny misanthrope which hilariously reads like an Eastern European version of Chuck Norris Facts. Contrast both to the heavily annotated “The Sorge Spy Ring,” which examines the genesis of a Soviet secret agent, and “Blind Jozef Pronek and Dead Souls,” a refugee’s take on 90s America.


Hemon is all over the place here, but his stories work in concert to tell a tale of suffering with only a whiff of redemption. Years of Old World torment are swept away in favor of New World alienation, and we are left wondering who had it worse: Uncle Julius in the Soviet gulags or Jozef Pronek, lost in the dead-end jobs of America?


If there is one drawback here, it is that the historical context – which often forms great parallels and contrasts between the personal stories being told – is ladled on too dense at times. The excessive footnoting which accompanied “The Sorge Spy Ring” was more of a distraction than a true companion story/reading aid.


That caveat aside, Hemon’s conviction, narrative sense, and technical proficiency make The Question of Bruno unforgettable, if uneven. A lot of authors use literary gimmickry to mask the fact that they have nothing to say. Here’s one who has plenty to say and whose experimentation with form ultimately ensures that the message comes across louder.


8/10