The Lazarus Project by Aleksander Hemon

“Home is where someone might notice your absence.”

                It is at home, where you friends and family know you the most. When you leave, it should not be a question as they “might notice you absence.” Brik feels that no one notices him whether he is present or not. Since he is a foreigner in America, with just in-laws for friends, and no job, he has nothing to help him stand out. His wife, Mary, says that once he has a job he will have a more normal life and possibly be more noticeable in his “home.” Brik, however, has two homes, the other in Sarajevo, where he is also not recognized.

“Even if you knew what you want to know, you would still know nothing. You ask questions, you want to know more, but no matter how much more I tell you, you will never know anything.”

                Rora always had elaborate, thrilling stories to tell Brik during their travels. He knows how to captivate his audience and keep them on the edge of the seat, when to withhold information to allow for more suspense. In the middle of a story, like normal, Rora withholds information from Brik, who expectantly becomes annoyed and begins to ask a numerous amount of questions. Rora becomes annoyed and tells him that even if he were to answer every possible thing for Brik, he would still not know nor understand anything because he has not lived through it. His questions can never fully be answered until he experiences for himself.

“If there are more dead than living, then the world is about death, and the question is: What are we to do with all the death? Who is going to remember all the dead?”

                While Rora and Brik are visiting the Jewish Community Center, they meet Iuliana who is their guide to answer questions and show them around. Not surprising, Brik begins to ask questions that can not only be answered but also force Rora and Iuliana to questions his sanity. Writing a book about Lazarus, which started with his questionable death/murder, Brik has the idea of death constantly in his brain, constantly thinking about it. 

shivah: the period of formal mourning lasting seven days from the funeral during which the mourner stays indoors and sits on a low stool (The Lazarus Project, 223)

Kaddish: is a prayer found in the Jewish prayer service. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name (The Lazarus Project, 223)

yeshiva: is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study (The Lazarus Project, 229)