The Casper family has some issues. The father, Jonathan is the epitome of the mad scientist. His wife is a fellow scientist whose work is for the birds, literally. Their daughters Amelia and Thisbe are budding political and religious zealots, respectively. But instead of bringing them together, their shared idiosyncrasies seem to be tearing the family apart. The family is at the center of Chicago writer Joe Meno’s latest novel The Great Perhaps. The Nelson Algren Award winner’s earlier work includes Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails, and How the Hula Girl Sings.

Joe Meno is celebrating the release of The Great Perhaps at Quimby’s on North Ave. in Chicago. The event takes place at 7 p.m. and features fellow author Jonathan Messinger and band The Astronomer.

Watch Joe Meno get grilled for The Wikipedia Files.



Music Button: Rob Mazurek Quintet, “The Field”, from the CD Sound Is, (Delmark records)