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The Final Final is the kind of bar that doesn’t exist in cities, a peculiarity of a small town that has seen better days. It is so called because it’s the last bar on the edge of town. The final stop after the final stop: The Final Final.
It’s 5pm on a Wednesday when Emma settles into her hometown bar with a motley crew of locals, all unaware that a series of decisions over the course of a single night is about to change their lives forever. As the evening unfolds, key details about Emma’s history emerge, and the past comes bearing down on her like a freight train. Why has Emma, a powerhouse in the business world, ended up here? What is she running away from? And what is she willing to give up to recapture the love she once cherished? An exploration of contemporary love, guilt, and the place we call home, and in the tradition of Ask Again, Yes and Little Fires Everywhere, Ordinary Hazards follows one woman’s epic journey back to a life worth living.
Advance praise for Ordinary Hazards:
Seen through keen eyes and full of deep feeling, Ordinary Hazards delves into the psyche of a woman grappling with grief, loss, and the burdens of inheritance. Anna Bruno vividly renders the messiness of a single human life in all its joy and heartbreak.
Claire Lombardo, author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
Crisp, haunting, and intelligent. Bruno’s narrator proves a dark, funny, unflinching companion as you descend with her, step by step, towards the revelation of what has led her to the bar tonight.
Stephen Markley, author of Ohio
What is fated? And how do we create our own fate through the smallest decisions? With humor and heart, Anna Bruno has written a haunting novel that confronts this question in all aspects of one’s life: family, career, marriage, and motherhood. Each character in Ordinary Hazards bears the weight of their history, and Bruno shows how even the most devastating secrets deserve redemption.
Fatima Mirza, author of A Place for Us
Ordinary Hazards is a devastating slow burn of a book. It’s rare to read a novel that takes such an unflinching look at grief, self-recrimination, and the way people try to put themselves back together after loss. Heavy topics are handled with a light touch.
Lydia Kiesling, author of The Golden State
Bruno shows a masterful talent for sketching both the outlines and depths of depression, guilt, and self-loathing… A spellbinding portrait of grief.
Kirkus Reviews (starred)
Anna Bruno 