"Waiting for the Man" by Arjun Basu

Joe is a very successful advertising copywriter for a very successful New York company.  But despite his success, he is increasingly becoming disillusioned with his job and with life.  When a mysterious man begins to appear in his dreams and then he begins seeing this man on the streets, his life takes a very drastic turn.

The man tells Joe to wait.  And so he does.  Joe sits down on the front steps of his home and waits.  For instructions.  For direction.  He knows that this man will tell him to do, he just needs to find out what he wants him to do.

Soon, people begin to take notice of Joe.  Before he knows it, he’s the new viral sensation.  People are coming from all over the world to see Joe, companies are wanting to sponsor his “wait,” and he is everywhere in the media.  But he continues to wait.  And then the man finally gives him what he is waiting for - “go west.”

Waiting for the Man, by Arjun Basu, is a moving novel about a man who is disillusioned and struggling to find out if there is more to life than what he sees.  Alternating between when Joe is on his wait and where he winds up, this is a book that will ring true for many people, no matter what their place in life.

This was a very interesting read for me.  I loved the premise going into it and was looking forward to a great read.  But it started off slow for me.  And at one point I was wondering if I should keep going. I did, and it picked up.  I wasn’t blown away, but by the end of it I did enjoy the read.

The writing style of the book really stands out.  Basu is known for his 140 character Twitter stories and it is evident in this book.  His writing is clear and right to the point.  

I enjoyed how the book gets to the point with contemporary culture.  For me, it was a delicious commentary on our social media obsessed world with the next big viral sensation.  Unfortunately, the rest of it fell a bit flat.  I didn’t get much from Joe’s search for meaning nor did I find his discovery very satisfying.  Like I said, I wasn’t blown away but it was enjoyable.  A middle of the road read for me.