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What Gentlemen Do: A Novel
A lost young man’s sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreakingattempt at navigating adulthood, online culture, and friendship in this coming-of-age story for our times.
Waylon Gans did not mean to start a riot on the university campus. He was only there because he wanted to be in the audience while one of his heroes, Josh Modley, recorded a live podcast.
The problem, as Waylon sees it, is that he is trash: he lives in Walleye, a town everyone wants to leave; his parents are losing their home due to a bad cryptocurrency investment; his job at the used bookstore is a dead-end; Derby, the love of his life, cannot even look at him; and he’s worried he’s falling back under podcaster Josh Modley’s influence and the comfort of blaming everything on the “feminists, globalists, and communists.” Half-heartedly pursuing an associate degree, Waylon is enrolled in Philosophy 118: Introduction to Stoicism. He becomes entranced by these teachings.
In a voice that is by turns comic and unusually wise, What Gentlemen Do is an unvarnished look at a young man wrestling with the consequences of his actions, the shakiness of his beliefs, and jeopardizing important relationships. Waylon tries to dismantle his own perception of truth and to build something meaningful in the process.
Waylon Gans did not mean to start a riot on the university campus. He was only there because he wanted to be in the audience while one of his heroes, Josh Modley, recorded a live podcast.
The problem, as Waylon sees it, is that he is trash: he lives in Walleye, a town everyone wants to leave; his parents are losing their home due to a bad cryptocurrency investment; his job at the used bookstore is a dead-end; Derby, the love of his life, cannot even look at him; and he’s worried he’s falling back under podcaster Josh Modley’s influence and the comfort of blaming everything on the “feminists, globalists, and communists.” Half-heartedly pursuing an associate degree, Waylon is enrolled in Philosophy 118: Introduction to Stoicism. He becomes entranced by these teachings.
In a voice that is by turns comic and unusually wise, What Gentlemen Do is an unvarnished look at a young man wrestling with the consequences of his actions, the shakiness of his beliefs, and jeopardizing important relationships. Waylon tries to dismantle his own perception of truth and to build something meaningful in the process.
- GenresFiction
336 pages, Paperback
Published June 23, 2026
About the author
Todd Babiak
13 books89 followersWhen I think no one else is around, I conduct pretend orchestras.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Did Not Finish
June 22, 2026Okay I've been conflicted about whether to post this review here or not because I read and dnfed this over a month ago but there were no reviews and I didn't want my dnf one to be the first but the book comes out tomorrow so I'm just going to do it anyway.
I understand that this is an advanced reader's copy, aka not the final draft, but I do expect a certain amount of editing to have been done before putting a book out for arcs and I don't see the reflection of that in this. The first 15% that I've read is a mess. The prose is juvenile and reads pretty badly, the flashbacks are placed in a way that makes it difficult to tell between the past and present. I just couldn't go on even if it might have been better.
Maybe I might have pushed through if it was indie but this coming from such a renowned publisher, I don't have it in me to finish this but hey maybe the final physical copy will be better than this. I got an arc from Penguin Random house Canada in exchange for an honest review.
I understand that this is an advanced reader's copy, aka not the final draft, but I do expect a certain amount of editing to have been done before putting a book out for arcs and I don't see the reflection of that in this. The first 15% that I've read is a mess. The prose is juvenile and reads pretty badly, the flashbacks are placed in a way that makes it difficult to tell between the past and present. I just couldn't go on even if it might have been better.
Maybe I might have pushed through if it was indie but this coming from such a renowned publisher, I don't have it in me to finish this but hey maybe the final physical copy will be better than this. I got an arc from Penguin Random house Canada in exchange for an honest review.
July 31, 2026
What Gentlemen Do by Todd Babiak is a sharp, timely, and surprisingly hopeful coming-of-age novel that takes on online grievance culture, young male isolation, and the possibility of personal change with humor and heart.
Waylon Gans, a 20-year-old from the declining prairie town of Walleye, sees himself as a loser. His parents are losing their home after a bad cryptocurrency investment, his job at a used bookstore is going nowhere, the girl he loves (Derby) won’t look at him, and he half-heartedly attends community college. He has fallen under the sway of a charismatic, grievance-peddling podcaster named Josh Modley, whose “Gentlemen” followers offer easy answers that blame feminists, globalists, immigrants, and others for his failures. After a disastrous campus event involving Modley turns into a riot that Waylon feels responsible for, he enrolls in Philosophy 118: Introduction to Stoicism and becomes captivated by the teachings of Marcus Aurelius. The ancient ideas of self-discipline, personal responsibility, and moral improvement begin to pull him away from the manosphere and toward something more constructive—including a surprising turn involving local politics and revitalizing his dying town.
Babiak (author of The Garneau Block, Come Barbarians, The Spirits Up, and others) writes in close first-person with a voice that is comic, self-deprecating, and occasionally wise. He captures the pull of online radicalization and the loneliness that feeds it without turning the story into pure satire or lecture. The novel wades into culture-war territory and incel-adjacent insecurity while also exploring philosophy, friendship, place, and urban renewal (drawing on the author’s own work in place branding). Reviewers have noted its mix of levity and seriousness: it is “a light novel about a dark subject” that still wants to reach the reader’s heart.
Strengths: The protagonist feels authentic and conflicted rather than a caricature. The Stoicism thread provides a genuine alternative to the easy outrage of online influencers, and the local/community focus gives the story grounded stakes beyond individual redemption. Praise from figures like Richard Florida and Terry Fallis highlights its humor, hope, and insight into struggling places.
Potential drawbacks: Readers sensitive to depictions of far-right or manosphere rhetoric may find the early sections uncomfortable (though the book critiques rather than endorses them). Some may wish for deeper secondary characters or a less optimistic arc.Overall, What Gentlemen Do (McClelland & Stewart / Penguin Random House, June 2026, ~336 pages) is an engaging, relevant read for anyone interested in contemporary coming-of-age stories, the forces shaping young men online, or fiction that balances critique with possibility. It is funny, thoughtful, and ultimately more hopeful than its bleak starting point suggests—a novel that dismantles toxic narratives and asks what it might actually mean to become a better person. Worth picking up.
Waylon Gans, a 20-year-old from the declining prairie town of Walleye, sees himself as a loser. His parents are losing their home after a bad cryptocurrency investment, his job at a used bookstore is going nowhere, the girl he loves (Derby) won’t look at him, and he half-heartedly attends community college. He has fallen under the sway of a charismatic, grievance-peddling podcaster named Josh Modley, whose “Gentlemen” followers offer easy answers that blame feminists, globalists, immigrants, and others for his failures. After a disastrous campus event involving Modley turns into a riot that Waylon feels responsible for, he enrolls in Philosophy 118: Introduction to Stoicism and becomes captivated by the teachings of Marcus Aurelius. The ancient ideas of self-discipline, personal responsibility, and moral improvement begin to pull him away from the manosphere and toward something more constructive—including a surprising turn involving local politics and revitalizing his dying town.
Babiak (author of The Garneau Block, Come Barbarians, The Spirits Up, and others) writes in close first-person with a voice that is comic, self-deprecating, and occasionally wise. He captures the pull of online radicalization and the loneliness that feeds it without turning the story into pure satire or lecture. The novel wades into culture-war territory and incel-adjacent insecurity while also exploring philosophy, friendship, place, and urban renewal (drawing on the author’s own work in place branding). Reviewers have noted its mix of levity and seriousness: it is “a light novel about a dark subject” that still wants to reach the reader’s heart.
Strengths: The protagonist feels authentic and conflicted rather than a caricature. The Stoicism thread provides a genuine alternative to the easy outrage of online influencers, and the local/community focus gives the story grounded stakes beyond individual redemption. Praise from figures like Richard Florida and Terry Fallis highlights its humor, hope, and insight into struggling places.
Potential drawbacks: Readers sensitive to depictions of far-right or manosphere rhetoric may find the early sections uncomfortable (though the book critiques rather than endorses them). Some may wish for deeper secondary characters or a less optimistic arc.Overall, What Gentlemen Do (McClelland & Stewart / Penguin Random House, June 2026, ~336 pages) is an engaging, relevant read for anyone interested in contemporary coming-of-age stories, the forces shaping young men online, or fiction that balances critique with possibility. It is funny, thoughtful, and ultimately more hopeful than its bleak starting point suggests—a novel that dismantles toxic narratives and asks what it might actually mean to become a better person. Worth picking up.
July 31, 2026
2.5 The subject matter is certainly worthy of discussion, and this book brought out some thought provoking points, but it fell flat. I felt it tried to be deep but never quite got there. It was depressing, and none of the characters were endearing or even all that likable despite the odd chuckle at their expense. The ending really didn't seem justified, and I still had a lot of questions. It left me annoyed and wondering why I had bothered reading such a pointless book.The best part of this book were the quotes by Marcus Aurelius.
July 26, 2026
Funny, sad, illuminating, unforgettable. I want my son to read it too, as it brings a hopeful quality to a pretty damning subject.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews