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Vendor
Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
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MARVEL AND A WONDER

Joe Meno

Meno evokes Faulkner in this contemporary rural epic.
Marvel and a Wonder is a darkly mesmerizing epic and literary page-turner set at the end of the twentieth century. In summer 1995, Jim Falls, a Korean War vet, struggles to raise his sixteen-year-old grandson, Quentin, on a farm in southern Indiana. In July, they receive a mysterious gift--a beautiful quarter horse--which upends the balance of their difficult lives.

The horse's appearance catches the attention of a pair of troubled, meth-dealing brothers and, after a violent altercation, the horse is stolen and sold. Grandfather and grandson must travel the landscape of the bleak heartland to reclaim the animal and to confront the ruthless party that has taken possession of it. Along the way, both will be forced to face the misperceptions and tragedies of their past.

Evoking the writing of William Faulkner and Denis Johnson, this brilliant, deeply moving work explores the harrowing, often beautiful marvels of a nation challenged by its own beliefs. Ambitious, expansive, and laden with suspense, Marvel and a Wonder presents an unforgettable pair of protagonists at the beginning of one America and the end of another.

Joe Meno is a fiction writer and playwright who lives in Chicago. He is the winner of the Nelson Algren Literary Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Great Lakes Book Award, and a finalist for the Story Prize. He is the editor of Chicago Noir 2: The Classics and the author of two short story collections and multiple novels including the best sellers Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails, and Office Girl. He is a professor in the Department of Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago.
Available products
Book

Published 2015-09-01 by Akashic Books - Brooklyn (USA)

Book

Published 2015-09-01 by Akashic Books - Brooklyn (USA)

Comments

Meno discusses his approach to writing the novel, his desire to work in multiple styles, and some of the writers that helped him find his own literary voice. Read more...

The always-wonderful Joe Meno is back with a many layered tale . . . . This is a departure from Meno’s usual novels, and borders on Cormac McCarthy territory. Read more...

Joe Meno: The TNB Self-Interview Read more...

When I heard his new novel would take a completely different direction, I grew excited. I had high hopes for Marvel and a Wonder, but it’s not the novel I was hoping for–it’s better. The first few pages alone show that this book is slower, more meditative, and more poetic than anything Meno has written so far....

Marvel and a Wonder is such a tender love story. The love of an irascible grandfather for his baffling grandson; the love for a mysterious horse; the love for a country that no longer seems to love us back. Joe Meno writes with poise and wit and stunning amounts of empathy. What a beautiful story. What a lovely book.

A grandiose, atmospheric portrait of Middle America in all its damaged glory.

This is a provocative reflection on the lives of the disenfranchised in the waning days of the 20th century, with a bittersweet resolution that will resonate with readers.

...Evoking William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy, Meno’s suspenseful, mordantly incisive, many-layered tale can also be read as an equine Moby-Dick...

Interview with Joe Meno / Quiz - [Marvel and a Wonder] is a unique take on the generation gap between a Korean war vet and his sixteen-year-old grandson, exploring themes like faith, sacrifice and family . . . With a bit of crime, tragedy and even love. Read more...

Religious symbolism plays a mysterious role in Joe Meno’s rugged page- turner Marvel and a Wonder... At moments the book’s consuming darkness is lifted by potent, if inscrutable visions of the talismanic horse—“a flash of lightning curving along the horizon.”

Talented Meno has penned a wise and touching novel (after Office Girl) of love, loyalty, courage; an extraordinary book not to be missed.