Buick Rivera

In essence, Hasan can be content with his life. A few years ago, as a fresh-faced American from the Balkans, he got his green card, got married, and settled in Toledo, Oregon. When he’s not passing the time playing snooker, he polishes, washes, and buffs his silver Buick Rivera, built in 1963 with a white hood and white stripes on the tires. While his marriage is already starting to show signs of wear, Hasan’s great love for the elegant classic car remains unwavering.

When he ends up in a ditch with his car in a less than elegant way on a snowy night, he gets help from a former compatriot who has just left his rich wife with fifteen thousand dollars in his pocket. With great eye for the comical situation, Jergovic tells how Hasan lets his compatriot maneuver him into the position of selling him his beloved Buick. When both men finally keep their honor with the most absurd reasoning but leave their empty car behind without a wife and without money, we as readers know: here is a great storyteller full of compassion for the man who cannot be seduced by politics!

It is no wonder that Jergovic is praised everywhere as a great writer and compared to authors such as Ian McEwan, John Updike and Nicole Krauss: his gaze for the small world in the big one is passionate and never loses sight of the 'laughing of God' over us humans. High time for us to discover him!