Waiting for the Man (27 page)

Thanks

Frankly, I don’t quite remember
not
writing or thinking about this book. It has been a long haul and this is a preface to say that it is quite possible (nay probable) that I am forgetting or have forgotten most of the people who should have ended up on this list. So remember that while I may be forgetful, I am never ungrateful.

The first inkling of this book was borne of continental road trips from long ago, one with Doug and the other with Caroline. Photos from these long voyages remain in my possession and they continue to be useful for extortion purposes. It was also a memorable time because I still had a full head of hair.

Then I started writing. Many people read earlier versions of this novel and the insight and wisdom of Timothy Taylor and Douglas Coupland stand out for being most insightful and full of wisdom.

I must thank Dina Yuen for introducing me to Neil Salkind, who sold the book to Jack David at ECW. And thanks are due to absolutely everyone at ECW, including Crissy Calhoun and Erin Creasey, and especially to my editor Emily Schultz, who was kind and smart and encouraging and gentle. Oh so gentle. Thanks to Michel Vrana for proving you
should
judge a book by its cover.

For whatever reason, I listened to a lot of Philip Glass during the endless editing of this work, especially the
Koyaanitsqatsi
soundtrack. So, um, thanks Philip Glass. And then there are the instrumental tracks from the soundtrack to
The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou
, written by Mark Mothersbaugh. I listened to that when I wasn’t listening to
Koyaanisqatsi
. So thanks to Mark Mothersbaugh as well.

Thanks, forever, to the late and great Lou Reed, whose lyrics started this process. And though the project ended far far away from the “man” Lou sings about, this book would be a very different creature without that first and fatal spark.

Thanks, always, to David McGimpsey, who is not just a supporter of my work and drinking buddy, but someone who gets me without being at all demanding. And thus is the best kind of friend.

And thanks to Milo, who has grown to something approaching adulthood during the gestation of this novel and, more importantly, has grown into a smart and sensitive person (who swears a bit too much perhaps, but so do his parents).

And mostly, thanks to Naomi. I’m not easy to live with. But then again, neither is she.

Copyright © Arjun Basu, 2014

Published by ECW Press

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4E 1E2

416-694-3348 / [email protected]

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW Press. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Parts of the chapter "A Big Country" previously appeared, in a very different form, as “In a Big Enough Country” in joylandmagazine.com.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Basu, Arjun, 1966-, author

Waiting for the man / Arjun Basu.

ISBN: 978-1-77090-51-60 (epub)

Also issued as: 978-1-77041-177-7 (pbk.); 978-1-77090-515-3 (pdf)

I. Title.

PS8603.A797W33 2014 C813’.6 C2013-907755-3 C2013-907756-1

Cover design: Michel Vrana

Text design and typesetting: Lynn Gammie

The publication of
Waiting for the Man
has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $157 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country, and by the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), an agency of the Government of Ontario, which last year funded 1,681 individual artists and 1,125 organizations in 216 communities across Ontario for a total of $52.8 million. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities, and the contribution of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.