Globe Corner Blogs

Love and Obstacles, the new book of short interlinked stories by Aleksander Hemon, arrived just in time for me to browse it before I went to hear him speak at the Harvard Bookstore. These stories are linked by a common character: a young Bosnian from Sarajevo who leaves for the United States right before the war in Bosnia erupted in 1992 and ends up sort of stranded abroad. The narrator is a familiar voice, and it is very similar to characters’ in Hemon’s previous books, The Question of Bruno, Nowhere Man, and current Globe Corner Bookstore Staff Favorite and highly acclaimed The Lazarus Project. The books are not autobiographical, but Hemon’s biography and the character’s share many common traits so I kind of felt like I knew him–I was very curious to see what he was like.

I was a little shocked when he first came to the podium, as he looked a bit different from the author photo on the back page. But, soon I was laughing along with the crowd as he read the witty dialog from the final story, The Noble Truths of Suffering. I became completely charmed if not completely smitten with him. As he was reading a passage describing “his” Sarajevo (one of my favorite places in the world) I was lulled into a dreamlike state and started to think of one of my most favorite places in Sarajevo…the cevabdzinica. The sausage shop.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to discover for yourself the wonders of a cevabdzinica in Sarajevo, let me give you just a bit of background information. A cevabdzinica is where you buy cevapi or cevapcici. Cevapi is a Balkan dish of little grilled sausages made from different combinations of minced meat. It is often served with various sides that can include onions, sour cream, ajvar, or kajmak and can be served on a plate or on flatbread. Cevapi can be found everywhere in Sarajevo and everyone has strong opinions on how they should be prepared and where you can find the best ones. It is hard to explain the significance of this tasty grilled sausage, but believe me, no one is shy about voicing their opinion on how they should be made, what they should be consumed with, and where you should go to get the best Sarajevo has to offer. I have even witnessed groups break apart for dinner and meet up later because they could not agree on the right place to go. Cevapi are very, very, very good.

So while I sat through the Q & A after Hemon’s reading and listened to all the educated, literary-type questions, I started to think about how I could start up a witty exchange with him while he was signing my book. Should I gush about how much I loved his work, tell him that I have even recommended Nowhere Man to my Bosnian friends, and how his book The Lazarus Project was a Staff Pick at the Globe Corner Bookstore? Should I just be pleasant and not say anything so I won’t embarrass myself, or should I mention that I have been to Sarajevo and dazzle him with my ability to say a few words in the local dialect? Or should I tell him that I really liked his glasses?

The line was long. I think I was behind of group of students. They must have written papers about his work as they were having him sign books and their papers and asking insightful questions. By the time my turn came around, he seemed like he just wanted to get through the arduous process of signing books. I came to the conclusion that I must just be pleasant in order to not seem a bit psychotic, but as I handed him my book that was conveniently opened to the right page for him to sign, I blurted out the question, “Where do you think the best place to get cevapi is in Sarajevo?” There was a slight pause, and I bit my lip. My one chance to talk to one of my favorite authors, and I ask him about sausage? There was a brief pause, and I caught myself staring at the top of his beautiful bald head, thinking…did I just mispronounce the word for ‘sausage’ in Bosnian? He then looked up at me and said, “Zeljo.”

Next time I happen to be in Sarajevo, I will go to Zeljo and think of Aleksander Hemon. He looks like a man who knows his cevapi.

Read more: Alexandar Hemon, Author Crush, Book Reviews, Cevapi, Eastern Europe, Food & Wine, Love and Obstacles, Sarajevo, Zeljo


Lisa can usually be found staring longingly at the Eastern European shelf at the Globe Corner Bookstore. However, she really wants to go to Colombia.

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