Best book written by a local author (in the last year or so)

Aleksandar Hemon, “The Lazarus Project”

The Bosnian-born MacArthur genius gave us his latest gift, “The Lazarus Project,” back in May, an epic, moving Chicago story that’s a detective novel, history tale and exploration of “home” all wrapped into one wonderfully impressive work. It’s no wonder this book was recently named a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award.

Best of Chicago 2008