The Lazarus Project is about a struggling,modern day Bosnian writer researching the 1908 murder of a Jewish immigrant named Lazarus Averbach by a Chicago police chief. Vladmir Brik, the writer, is the narrator of the story and the action is filtered through his experience. The chapters of the book alternate between the telling of Lazarus' killing and its effect on his sister and friend, and Brik's half-hearted attempt to research and write the story.
The major theme of this book seems to be the difficulty for foreigners in adapting to American life and overcoming racial bigotry and fear. It is easy to see the similarities between 1908 Chicago and 21st century Chicago. Both eras suffer from mistrust and misinformation about alien cultures and the practice of terrorism.
Ultimately the book is about violence and death and how they are universal for human beings regardless of time and circumstance. The Lazarus Project is both desperate and depressing at times but always maintains interest