Coming September 2022.

http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/book-of-extraordinary-tragedies/

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.

“As in all his tender and edgy fiction, Meno’s poetic prose is infused with sweet compassion and sharp protest as he marvels over ‘the beautiful failure of all human beings struggling against their own glorious mistakes’ while, somehow, finding a way forward.” —Booklist, starred review

“[D]espite the long odds stacked against his characters, Meno keeps their story buoyant …They’re hopelessly optimistic in their own twisted way … What this story gets so right is how so many of us live in the past and the present all at once.” —Chicago Reader

“Joe Meno writes with a humor and tenderness that sometimes doesn’t feel made for this bleak hour of history … Or. Maybe it’s exactly what we need right now? … Meno reminds us that though family’s do, in fact, fuck you up, sometimes they’re the only thing that can put you back together.” —Lit Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2022

“Meno knows how to make you love his characters, want what they want. But don’t think he’s going to let things turn out well for them.” —New York Times Book Review

“At heart, these are good people, in tough circumstances, making the same mistakes that many of us make. Will they allow themselves the chance to obtain happiness? A family of gifted individuals can’t seem to stop sabotaging their own lives, but you’ll want them to.” —Kirkus Reviews

Coming June 2, 2020.

https://www.counterpointpress.com/dd-product/between-everything-and-nothing/

“Ambitious exposé of the troubled immigration system as seen through the lens of two African migrants’ experiences. Meno, a professor of creative writing and prolific fiction writer, tracks the grueling journeys of his complexly rendered protagonists, Razak and Seidu, both from Ghana, one fleeing a murderous family dispute, the other a promising soccer player facing persecution after being outed as bisexual. The author portrays them convincingly as hapless pawns in a massive explosion of migration, countered in the Americas with greed and cruelty. Even for those with legitimate reasons to seek shelter, like his protagonists, “the asylum process in the U.S. has become its own inviolable system.” The narrative is both sprawling and controlled, as Meno alternates between a terrifying account of their attempts to reach safety across the Canadian border during a blizzard and the longer-term arc of their improbable, brutal journeys as migrants…Meno writes deftly, with a fine sense of detail and place, bringing an all-too-common story to life. A well-paced and engaging account, highly relevant to current political debates.” -Kirkus, starred review

“When Ghanaian refugees Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal meet by chance at a bus stop on a freezing night in Minneapolis, in December 2016, each man had already been on a long and torturous journey to reach the United States. Razak fled Ghana for Brazil after his half-siblings brutally attacked him in an effort to rob him of his part of his inheritance from their father. Seidu, 11 years Razak’s junior, traveled to Brazil for soccer tryouts, but when his coach caught him in bed with another man, he fled, fearing retribution from the anti-LGBT Ghanaian government. Both men set off across South America, heading for the U.S., and facing perils ranging from armed robbers to swindlers, starvation, dehydration, and bureaucratic officials seeking bribes as they made their way through Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. When the men finally arrived in the U.S. to apply for asylum, they were incarcerated and thrown into a system so hostile, and so brutal, each of them was forced to look north to Canada for sanctuary, despite having relatives in the U.S. In his first nonfiction book, acclaimed fiction writer Meno (Marvel and a Wonder, 2015) presents a powerful and eye-opening recounting of each asylum-seeker’s harrowing odyssey, essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the current immigration crisis.”-Booklist, starred review

“A suspenseful account of two Ghanaian refugees’ quest for political asylum … Meno’s well-written story of survival and friendship puts individual faces on the plight of millions of refugees around the world. Readers will be equal parts outraged and inspired by this novelistic account.” ―Publishers Weekly

“The most important book I’ve read in a long time, Between Everything and Nothing vividly dramatizes what the world needs to know about the tragic effects of our corrupt and dehumanizing immigration system. Though harrowing, the story of Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal is also deeply inspiring, revealing how two powerless but fiercely courageous asylum seekers, battered by years of injustice and cruelty, held fast to their religious faith, their dignity, and their love and hope for humanity.” ―Sigrid Nunez, author of The Friend

Please read an excerpt:

The Believer: https://believermag.com/logger/between-everything-and-nothing/?fbclid=IwAR0Ge1_ORbwE1n_LrIWHde90QFQVtvHS5gpdGmkQQGUetEDR1gIysblfTGY

The Millions: https://themillions.com/2020/06/between-everything-and-nothing-featured-nonfiction-from-joe-meno.html?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com&fbclid=IwAR3RHFSAz-QSpG4X5pDGJfImQnacjjOt3bw8mhVASjOFpbn0RUrsnv1fg58

Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/06/07/youre-frozen-to-death-the-wild-journey-of-the-refugees-who-lost-their-fingers-to-frostbite-crossing-into-manitoba.html?fbclid=IwAR3JvVQ9sKxK4woCsGcA9HSpGl21sZVynjdTAmoU6Md7_cIWZNPS_J2ZvDo

Read Joe Meno’s serial novella on Electric Literature:

https://electricliterature.com/the-girl-goes-missing/