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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
A Brief History of Wasting Time by Gary C McAuley follows Cyrus, a man who decides that doing as little as possible will govern his days after finishing a long-postponed physics book. He stays indoors, organizes his hours around television, minor contests, and talk, then carries that decision into work by doing just enough to pass inspection. Wendy pushes against this behavior with confrontation and force, while Cyrus refuses to adjust. His friend Winchester Chernobyl pulls him into side episodes involving jobs, arrests, libraries, and odd intellectual discoveries that complicate his daily life but never redirect it. As his relationships are strained and institutions react, the book traces how a single choice about time reshapes his employment, domestic life, and public consequences.
Thanks to Gary C McAuley’s A Brief History of Wasting Time, I think I just had a life-affirming experience! Intelligent and incredibly witty, McAuley’s prose is polished and leans into a series of hilarious ideas from a likeable protagonist. For all his apathy, Cyrus is mostly kind in how he treats others, including animals, even bringing his rooster to a cycling event that catches the attention of a woman who arrives at just the right time. The settings factor into the story with the same relevance as the ancillary characters, from an office conference room where claim folders slide into a rolling hamper, to a backyard that hosts pea shooting and improvised contests. A Brief History of Wasting Time is the book I did not know I needed, but am glad I found, especially on this rainy Monday. I might just call in sick. Very highly recommended.
