Print List Price:	$17.00
Kindle Price:	$12.99 Save $4.01 (24%)
Sold by:	Simon and Schuster Digital Sales LLC Price set by seller.

Promotions apply when you purchase

Add an

audiobook with Audible narration for $12.49

Audiobook Price: $17.05

Save: $4.56 (27%)

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Anna Bruno

+ Follow

More books from this author

Ordinary Hazards: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Anna Bruno (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 134 ratings

Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction

See all formats and editions

For fans of Celeste Ng and Mary Beth Keane comes an impeccably paced and transfixing debut novel that “vividly renders the messiness of a single human life in all its joy and heartbreak” (Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author).

It’s 5 p.m. 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?

A “crisp, haunting, and intelligent” (Stephen Markley, author of Ohio) exploration of modern love, guilt, and the place we call home, Ordinary Hazards follows one woman’s epic journey back to a life worth living.

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

“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)

“Crisp, haunting, and intelligent. Beneath the surface of this booze-soaked, small town, dive bar novel lies a devastating story of loss, guilt, and grief. 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

“Echoing the small-town atmospheric work of Richard Russo, Andre Dubus III, and Jane Smiley, Bruno's novel introduces a lyrical, earnest, and heartfelt voice. For the regulars, or anyone who's walked into a woodpaneled haven and had their drink of choice slid across a well-polished bar without exchanging a word, Ordinary Hazards burns deliciously, but goes down easy.” —Booklist (starred)

“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 ofThe Golden State

"Ordinary Hazards is a kaleidoscopic novel of the best variety, spinning into and out of itself as it explores grief, love and loss in ways that will haunt readers long past the last page." —Shelf Awareness (starred)

"Ordinary Hazards is a kaleidoscopic novel of the best variety, spinning into and out of itself as it explores grief, love and loss in ways that will haunt readers long past the last page." —Shelf Awareness (starred)

About the Author

Anna Bruno is a writer and business communications instructor at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business, where she coaches MBA students on developing and delivering presentations. Previously, Anna managed public relations and marketing for technology and financial services companies in Silicon Valley. She holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, an MBA from Cornell University, and a BA from Stanford University. Ordinary Hazards is her first novel.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07Z44R4PB
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books (August 18, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 18, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2243 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 271 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,044,265 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,603 in Women's Psychological Fiction
- #1,821 in Psychological Literary Fiction
- #3,262 in Women's Divorce Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.1 134 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Anna Bruno

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Anna Bruno is a writer and teacher at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business. Previously, Anna managed public relations and marketing for technology and financial services companies in Silicon Valley. She holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, an MBA from Cornell University, and a BA from Stanford University. She lives in Iowa City with her husband, two sons, and blue heeler. Ordinary Hazards is her first novel.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

134 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Pravs

Great Read and Escape into Emma's world

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2021

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed the read of this book. What stood out to me the most was the main character's (Emma) complexities in her character and emotions. Between going through love, anguish, emptiness, and hope, she felt like a very real character whom you can relate to in many ways. The other character's added to the story but she was definitely the main highlight.
I also liked the format of storytelling. Taking place through the course of the evening/night at a small local bar, she tells the story of that night, but so many backstories that are always integrated into how you get to such an eventful night.
There were great passages throughout that made me stop and actually highlight some areas (I haven't used a highlighter in a book in about 20 years) that just really hit home with me and I feel like they will stick when I think about certain scenarios in my life.
Great read and exhilarating throughout the whole story. Amazing debut novel!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

NRG in PA

Well written, but depressing

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

I found the story interesting and well written, but very depressing.
The news is depressing enough at the moment, so maybe it is just my mood.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Mindo'ermatter

Difficult Storyline, Making Sense Only at the End

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2021

Verified Purchase

First-time books are challenging to review, and this first novel by Anna Bruno was at first a struggle to understand and enjoy. The story is set in an Upstate New York small-town bar, as Emma recounts her one-night drinking binge among drinking friends she's gotten to know over the last five years.

This story is structured in one-hour segments, each representing a chapter in long-length format, most about thirty pages long, beginning hourly at 5 PM and ending at 1 AM.

The storytelling is a first-person retrospective by Emma, mixing multiple timeframes into a multilayered and convoluted storyline patchwork quilt of her thoughts and experiences---past, present, and future---told unreliability in broken pieces of memories, insights, and judgmental comments.

At first, nothing makes sense as random glimpses of present and past collide into a cathartic and troubling tale of happiness and woe. After reading the first several chapters, these disconnected story patterns became clearer; however, with newer eyes, I began again reading the story from the start, seeing things anew.

Although I didn't care for the dumpy bar context, Emma's distorted observations and reflections told a deeper, more serious tale of a woman trying to make sense of her life, family, loves, and fleeting yet phantom business successes. Amid the ups and downs of her life, this seamy bar becomes the recurring social epicenter of Emma's world for five confusing years.

With each succeeding hour, the conundrum of Emma's life becomes clearer as new facts emerge, as if each bar incident and subsequent drink loosens Emma's storytelling abilities, enabling her honest acceptance of fate and the consequences of her own poor choices and emotional decisions.

Things at the bar grow tense, angers flair, strong personalities collide in an unexpected but meaningful ending. Perhaps the best parts of this self-reflective story are Emma's wise insights and her journey to acceptance and understanding. In a sense, the reader's discomfort and forced listening to Emma's coalescing thoughts and rants creates a shared experience through her painful ordeal. Perhaps that was the author's intentions all along.

Although this work is worthy of review, reflection, and reading group discussions, in the end, I found my reading experience a neccessary evil to endure as a foundational wakeup call to the distractions we create for ourselves that deprive us of those things we truly want most.

The story's characters and dialogues were believable and provoking, adding tension and stress to the reading experience. Audible's narration supplement added personality and drama to the meandering plotline, making it more bearable.

With this first publication success, I hope the author uses her well-developed writing skills to create a more enjoyable and satisfying reading experience. I'll be watching for Anna Bruno's next novel.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Joyce Holden

Ordinary Hazards is anything but Ordinary

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is an extraordinary novel which takes place in one night in a local bar in a small rural town. One gets to know the back story of Emma and the other locals who are in the bar through the author, Anna Bruno's, skillful, descriptive writing. One is kept in suspense throughout the novel about just why she is there without her husband who was a key member of the group of friends at the bar. It was a very unique and beautifully written novel which will keep your attention throughout the evening at the "Final Final" Bar.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Erin

One decision can change your life

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2020

I loved this book! The story spans a single night and each chapter is another hour, another drink, another memory that haunts our protagonist, Emma. The daughter of wealthy parents, Emma has always strived to be the best at everything. She graduated from Harvard and took a Wall Street job just like she was supposed to. However, this is short lived, and Emma moves to a little town where the locals never leave. The ones that do all seem to return and gather at the local watering hole, The Final Final.

Emma spends her evening sitting at the bar and observing those around her sipping their drinks, having conversations, picking on one another, and reflecting on what has brought her to this very moment. As the clock ticks on she recalls many life-altering decisions that set her on a path of love, loss, and despair. Emma met the love of her life, Lucas, at this very bar. Little did they know tragedy would strike and tear them apart.

Each chapter reveals something new to the reader about Emma. We learn about the complicated relationship she has with her father and her need for his approval. Their relationship, or lack thereof, plagues Emma and influences many of her decisions. We witness Emma and Lucas’ love story and realize that she’s yet to let him go. She sits at the bar hoping for the slightest mention of his name, an update, no matter how minor, that can clue her in to how he’s doing. Each chapter contains flashbacks that divulge what caused the separation and resulted in Emma’s sad state of mind. Even though Emma’s vision is hazy after many drinks, she is seeing clearly for the first time. She’s confronting the fact that she may have been away when tragedy struck, but her decisions were most certainly a contributing factor.

Readers also feel the rising tensions between Emma and the other patrons, most of which were Lucas’ friends before she ever came to town. The cast of characters is eclectic – a mentally unstable doctor, a drug-dealing, single father, a young girl that knows far too much at such a young age, a washed-up diner cook, and a quiet barmaid. Each character is a string tethering Emma’s past to her present. I loved these characters and learning their backstories. Bruno does a fantastic job developing the characters and making each one an important piece of the puzzle. She mastered the slow burn leading up to the inevitable boiling over of tensions. Bruno crafted flawed characters in a way that still makes them likeable and relatable. We’ve all experienced anguish, despair, and loss and that’s why the characters are so memorable.

The bar itself, The Final Final, is a great setting! It symbolizes the last stop in the grieving process and is somewhat cathartic. So much has happened inside the bar and so many memories were created there. It only makes sense that the bar would provide the final release of grief. The last exhale of a breath held for too long.

I didn’t really know what I was in for when I started this book, but now that I’ve finished I know it will stay with me for a long time. The grief process is different for everyone and Bruno wrote about it beautifully. Every story climaxed at the same time and ended with each person exorcising their inner demons. While this is a heavy read, it is a very important one. All of us are guilty of bottling up regrets, pushing down our emotions, and putting a smile on our face. Ordinary Hazards shows us that confronting our emotions is the only way to continue moving forward with our lives. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of deep character development and books that teach us a little more about ourselves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reading eBook in exchange for my honest review.

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

An interesting plot

Helpful