'The Remarkable Resurrection Of Lazaros X' is one of the most extraordinary memoirs of recent times.
Les Terry grew up in poverty in working-class Brunswick in Melbourne. In his backyard was a shed full of abandoned family relics - old dentures, spectacles, wallets, diaries, knickers and other items that once belonged to now-dead relations. The little boy's vivid imagination conjures up the voices of his ancestors through these relics. They chatter, remember, abuse and argue with him and each other. With the help of these outrageous, uninhibited and competing 'voices' of his tough, fugitive but endearing childhood, he is slowly able to piece together one side of his family background.
As he grows to adulthood, however, Les is plagued by the past and its voice. Analysing the claims and counter-claims of his voluble ancestors, he uncovers a story that casts doubt on his identity and his personal history as he knows it.
His eventual discovery of the other half of his background and the emergence of his alter ego, Lazaros Xanthos, is both humorous and deeply touching.
'The Remarkable Resurrection Of Lazaros X' counterpoises narrative flair with a gritty, challenging reality. This is memoir crossed with intrigue, autobiography spiked with farce, and romance grounded in poverty and struggle. In all its guises, it is utterly memorable.
