Waiting for the Man

An advertising man searches for meaning in this “fascinating dissection of the media world we live in . . . A thought-provoking road-trip tale” (Chicago Tribune).

Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize

In his mid-thirties, Joe works as an advertising copywriter for a slick New York agency. But he feels disillusioned with his life, and finds himself experiencing dreams about a mysterious man, seeing him on the street, hearing his voice. Joe decides to listen. So he waits on his stoop, day and night, for instructions.

A local reporter takes notice, and soon Joe has become a media sensation, the center of a storm. When the Man tells Joe to “go west,” he does. What follows 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.

“A strangely engrossing, meticulously written allegory of the present moment.” —Douglas Coupland, author of Worst. Person. Ever.