"Wanderlost"

"Wanderlost" was written on the go, during a month-long train trip Ben Olson took around America. It centers on the experiences of Max Manchester, a 25 year-old anti-hero lanquishing in poverty, struggling to make it as a writer and suffering from the disenchantment that characterizes post-collegiate life; searching for the soul and substance he feels lacking in his generation.

Though a work of fiction, "Wanderlost" is heavily based on factual events and observations. It is all part of Olson's attempt to muddy the line between fiction and non, between art and life, between documentation and exploitation. "Wanderlost" captures the essence of the strange period of life after college and before looming adulthood; when idealism is still a good thing, when one must choose to embrace the often mediocre task of mundane existence, or burn free and live according to the principles of our hearts. It is a coming-of-age tale, a humorous travel narrative and an acerbically accurate portrayal of modern American Life written in a personal, uninhibited style of journalistic prose.