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Fiction Literary

Waiting for the Man

by (author) Arjun Basu

Publisher
ECW Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2014
Category
Literary, Visionary & Metaphysical, Satire, Action & Adventure
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781770412835
    Publish Date
    Aug 2015
    List Price
    $16.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781770905160
    Publish Date
    Aug 2015
    List Price
    $12.99
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781770411777
    Publish Date
    Apr 2014
    List Price
    $24.95

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

 

A surreal journey of a man who is searching for purpose and for happiness

Joe, a 36-year-old advertising copywriter for a slick New York agency, feels disillusioned with his life. He starts dreaming of a mysterious man, seeing him on the street, and hearing his voice. Joe decides to listen to the Man and so he waits on his stoop, day and night, for instructions. A local reporter takes notice, and soon Joe has become a story, a media sensation, the centre of a storm. When the Man tells Joe to “go west,” he does, in search of meaning.

Waiting for the Man is a compelling and visceral story about the struggle to find something more in life, told in two interwoven threads — Joe at the beginning of his journey in Manhattan, and at the end of it as he finds new purpose on a ranch in Montana under the endless sky

.

About the author

Arjun Basu is a writer and editor. In 2008, he published Squishy, a collection of short stories that was shortlisted for the ReLit Prize. His stories have been published in many literary journals, including Matrix and Joyland. He also writes 140-character short stories he calls Twisters on Twitter (@ArjunBasu), which have won him a Shorty Award, lots of press, and a worldwide following. Arjun lives in Montreal with his wife, son, and dog. This is his first novel.

Arjun Basu's profile page

Awards

  • Long-listed, Scotiabank Giller Prize

Editorial Reviews

 

“That it’s hard to put down is a credit to Basu’s perfect sentences and clear sense of direction … I want to say that it’s reminiscent of Hemingway, but in a way that sounds nothing like him. It is, however, the perfect style for this novel, a retelling of the American Dream that Hemingway would never have understood.” — National Post

“Although this is the author’s debut novel, his experience at shorter forms (Squishy) shows; fans of his 140-character Twisters on Twitter will be pleased to know that the author’s talents are on display in this novel.” — Publishers Weekly

Waiting for the Man is observant and clever, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Basu toys with his readers, pushing us away to point out the distance at which we hold the characters and stories that populate our pages and screens, and reminds us there is always more to the story.” — Katia Grubisic in Montreal Review of Books

Waiting for the Man is captivating, aggravating, enlightening and redemptive.” —Winnipeg Free Press

“Perhaps the dark subtext to this entertaining novel is that movement is impossible, even for many seemingly privileged boys … Waiting for the Man hides a chilling truth under its light-hearted surface: the American Dream is a trap.” — Quill & Quire

 

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