Book of Extraordinary Tragedies

Written by Joe Meno

Narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross

Aleksandar and Isobel are siblings and former classical music prodigies, once destined for greatness. As the only Eastern European family growing up on their block on the far southside of Chicago, the pair were inseparable until each was
forced to confront the absurdity of tragedy at an early age and abandon their musical ambitions.

Now in their twenties, they find themselves encountering ridiculous jobs, unfulfilling romantic relationships, and the outrageousness of ordinary life.

Doomed by fate, a family history of failure, an odd mother, an absent father, and a younger brother with a peculiar fondness for catastrophes, the two siblings have all but given up.

But when an illness forces Isobel and her three-year-old daughter to move back into the family home, Aleks becomes deeply involved in the endless challenges that surround his relatives. Once Isobel begins playing cello again, Aleks comes to
see a world of possibility and wonder in the lives of his extraordinarily complicated family.

Told in Aleks’s exuberant voice, and full of as much comedy as tragedy, this entertaining novel asks, Is it ever truly possible to separate our fates from those we’ve come to love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705066638

Joe Meno

Joe Meno is the author of over five novels such as The Great Perhaps,which was a winner of the Great Lakes Book Award for Fiction in 2009 and a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice. His short fiction has been published by the likes of McSweeney's, Witness and TriQuarterly. He is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.

Reviews for Book of Extraordinary Tragedies

[paperbackpirate · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The title is not a lie. This novel illustrates how difficult it is to escape the cycle of poverty. It's heart-wrenching, but I'm glad I read it. I kind of missed the main character for a few days after I finished the story. I really didn't want to leave his side. Bonus points for a main character with a disability. Read if you like classical music.

[jgoto_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This novel is about so many thing: music, hearing loss, dysfunctional families, and mostly how history affects lives. Aleks is a 20 year old of Bosnian, Polish, Croatian descent. He was a talented musician but struck at an early age with hearing loss. He experiences the world through music and silences. He lives in poverty with his quirky family (including a 4 year old niece who also has hearing loss) whom he loves and protects. All are overpowered by the tragic history of their ancestors. Yet they try to get by with their (sometimes) meaningless jobs, which often dip into illegal ways to stay afloat. Their story is tragic, but subtle humor sneaks in, as do rays of hope. Meno's prose is engaging and good. His characters are quirky and interesting. One paragraphs seemed to sum up the relationship of their lives with their history:

(While watching a TV soccer match) "We sit in silence and watch men in very tight shorts run after a spheroid for ninety minutes, never scoring a goal. The game ends in a zero-zero tie. All at once I understand why Eastern Europeans prefer this sport to all others. Maybe it is the tedium, the sense the players are merely trying to survive, that no one is supposed to be having any fun, and the best you can hope for is a draw."

I recommend this book! It would be great for book club discussion.

[mm_jones · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Joe Meno's latest novel, BOOK OF EXTRAORDINARY TRAGEDIES, is a meditation on family and success. The narrator, Alek Fa, is an amazing character struggling through everyday life in failing Chicago. Raised by well-meaning pseudo-intellectuals, he excelled at classical piano as a child. However, he's now dealing with inherited deafness, dependent siblings and absentee parents. Money is a constant problem and Alek wonders if it is his fate to be cursed by history, by the place and situation from which his family came.

Bittersweet and quirky, you'll love the characters, but wish life wasn't so hard.

Thanks to Akashic Books and Library Thing for the ARC

[lisbethe-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received a free copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program, in exchange for an honest review. The book tells the story of an Eastern European family (and particularly siblings Aleksander and Isobel) growing up on the far Southside of Chicago -- where they were confronted with challenging family dynamics and a neighborhood they never exactly fit into. The author has an absolutely wonderful way with words, and his voice brings the characters to life in ways an average narrative approach could not do. "The circumstances of our ridiculous-sounding names and the fact that all of us had been reared by well-meaning pseudo-intellectuals to appreciate books and music made us strangers on our block and in our neighborhood." Even when they are making stupid or merely misguided decisions, you'll still find yourself rooting for them, hoping against hope that they'll manage to figure things out. Loved it.

[ollie1976 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Read this as part of the Early Reviewers program...Well developed characters who end up going through a lot more that initially expected. But were they characters that this reader really cared about? Not really. Each has their own set of specialized chaos and it doesn't always mesh with each other or citizens in Chicago. I'd give it about 3.5 stars out of 5.

[icepacklady · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book does a great job of describing Chicago. I've never been to Chicago myself but I imagine that if you are a Chicago native you would be able to follow Joe Meno's narrative down the streets, through the parks, to the hospitals, and schools. You'd know the neighborhoods he describes and you'd say "Yeah, that's it." I found some of the characters here unbelievable and couldn't fully get into the story after a while because my brain was just thinking "it wouldn't happen like that" but it's an interesting story and in the end gives out a message of hope and happy endings.

[patsaintsfan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well... This was my first Meno book, and I will definitely be searching out his others. I won this book through LibraryThing, and it's easily the best book I have won. Meno has the wonderful ability to make the reader care about all of his characters on a deep level. I will not forget this book for a very long time.

[surlysal_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had a hard time finding something not to like about this story. I haven't read Meno before but now I must. The story follows a family through tragedy, heartbreak, and everyday issues yet finished highly uplifting. I found myself relating to and enjoying all the characters which doesn't happen often. Their flaws and strengths are presented with such a prose you can't help but root for them. Great story that I'm glad I read.

[dallenbaugh_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Aleks, the narrator, chronicles the downward spiral of his once prosperous immigrant family using musical terms and scores that have resonated with him throughout his life. He and his sister Isobel are finally able to rise above their unfortunate circumstances and claim a victory of sorts showing the strength of the love they have for each other. Compelling prose and character portrayal.

[katybee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although this seems like a bleak story of an Eastern European family coming of age in Chicago and confronting a series of family hardships, it unfolds with humor and hope and sensitivity. The main characters are siblings Aleksander, Isobel, and Daniel - quirky, talented, poor, scrambling after something good to finally happen in their lives without much assistance from older family members. I loved the relationship between Alek and his niece, Jazzy. Music and learning to communicate with hearing loss are integral to this novel. This is a comedy/tragedy with this great quote toward the end:"Everything important is part of some larger tragedy, the beautiful failure of all human beings struggling against their own mistakes."

[hairball_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Other of Meno’s books have hit me harder, or I’ve just been in a different place when I’ve read them and been more receptive. No fault to the writing or ideas; I empathized most with the toddler, and I don’t even like children. Maybe we’re both frustrated, being stuck with hapless adults.