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Water, Wasted
Following the shocking death of a teenage boy, Barrett and Amelia are moved to revisit their daughter Edi's own untimely passing, which occurred in the same small town nearly a decade earlier. Amelia finds herself caring for the recently deceased boy's "sort of" girlfriend, who faces constant harassment and accusations from the townsfolk, while Barrett combs through Edi's self-published fantasy novels in an effort to connect with her. As he reads, an increasingly bizarre wave of incidents crashes down upon the town involving a talking goat, Bigfoot, and a G-Man with alien thought patterns, to name but a few. As the Missouri River slowly floods, and the thin line between fact and fiction is washed away, Barrett and Amelia struggle against the great unknown and search desperately for inner peace. Blending whimsy and wonder with a mix of mayhem and malevolence, Water, Wasted takes readers on a tour of loss, redemption, and the great unknown.
- GenresFiction
288 pages, Paperback
Published November 10, 2020
11 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
November 12, 2020
Branson's voice in this novel is unmistakable. If you have spent any time listening to E1, or anything else he has been involved in, I think you will be hard-pressed to read this novel without hearing it narrated by Branson himself, particularly (**spoilers**) the goat (**end spoilers**). For those coming to this book unfamiliar with Branson's prior work, you may be caught off guard by hyper-casual phrases interspersed in an otherwise delicate prose. The passage describing Derek's morning drive comes to mind as a prime example of this. I suppose this could be jarring to some readers, but I prefer to think of it as dynamic.
The novel is funny in a way that many tragic stories told by a natural comedian can be funny. The plot is not funny, the characters are not necessarily funny, but Branson tells the story with humor that made me audibly laugh a dozen times. The story itself explores how individuals deal with grief--predominantly the grief that follows the death of young people that carries with it no lesson, or blame. Tragedy that just is. Where this story differs from other similarly premised fiction is its use of South American style surrealism. Accordingly, the resolution of this book satisfied on an emotional level more so than on an analytical level. For me, that worked.
The characters are well developed. Dialog flows naturally. One scene that stuck out to me was (**light spoilers**) between Barrett and Amalie in her kitchen. While the description of the physical space that the scene takes place is neither the focus of the characters or the narration, the nature of the dialog paints a vivid picture.
I could go on, but the point is I very much enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to friends. My only complaint is that (**spoilers**) Branson named the horny idiot after @eedrk. Very rude!
The novel is funny in a way that many tragic stories told by a natural comedian can be funny. The plot is not funny, the characters are not necessarily funny, but Branson tells the story with humor that made me audibly laugh a dozen times. The story itself explores how individuals deal with grief--predominantly the grief that follows the death of young people that carries with it no lesson, or blame. Tragedy that just is. Where this story differs from other similarly premised fiction is its use of South American style surrealism. Accordingly, the resolution of this book satisfied on an emotional level more so than on an analytical level. For me, that worked.
The characters are well developed. Dialog flows naturally. One scene that stuck out to me was (**light spoilers**) between Barrett and Amalie in her kitchen. While the description of the physical space that the scene takes place is neither the focus of the characters or the narration, the nature of the dialog paints a vivid picture.
I could go on, but the point is I very much enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to friends. My only complaint is that (**spoilers**) Branson named the horny idiot after @eedrk. Very rude!
December 17, 2020
2.5
The December book for the Nervous Breakdown Book Club
As I read, I kept anticipating a big payoff, that questions would be answered as storylines merged. That’s usually the opposite of what I’m hoping for in a work; I generally like when an ending holds more questions than answers. This book isn’t really for me (though I played D&D a long time ago, so am familiar with the fantasy tropes), but I found some good things in it— an example of the journey being fuller than the destination, at least for me.
The novel was published by Rare Bird Books (love the name) and has a gorgeous cover with a raised title, comma included (I love that comma). It doesn’t become clear why the title is what it is until near the end. I’m not sure what it has to do with most of the book, but it’s a great sentiment.
The December book for the Nervous Breakdown Book Club
As I read, I kept anticipating a big payoff, that questions would be answered as storylines merged. That’s usually the opposite of what I’m hoping for in a work; I generally like when an ending holds more questions than answers. This book isn’t really for me (though I played D&D a long time ago, so am familiar with the fantasy tropes), but I found some good things in it— an example of the journey being fuller than the destination, at least for me.
The novel was published by Rare Bird Books (love the name) and has a gorgeous cover with a raised title, comma included (I love that comma). It doesn’t become clear why the title is what it is until near the end. I’m not sure what it has to do with most of the book, but it’s a great sentiment.
January 12, 2021
The final Nervous Breakdown Book Club selection of 2020 is possibly the weirdest novel I have ever read, but there was a lot I liked about it. As in Lord The One You Love Is Sick, it is set in a small town, this time in Missouri, right on the Missouri River.
The author grew up in Missouri, he likes to work for nonprofits that actually help people, and he runs an unusual podcast where every episode is the first episode without any sequels, or something like that.
Central to the story are a middle-aged divorced couple, Barrett and Amelia, who lost their only child, a daughter named Edi. That loss destroyed their marriage leaving them each to become rather isolated eccentrics. The violent death of a teenage boy touches both of them in different ways but prompts them to reconnect and reflect on Edi's passing.
Several other odd characters of the town turn out to have their own connections to Barrett, including an involved story concerning lots of dogs, a talking goat, a Bigfoot-like entity that ravages the countryside, and a G-man (supposedly a government agent who acts more like an alien.)
The story circles around, back into the past, and through many instances of the Missouri River flooding. During her short life, Edi wrote several fantasy books in which the goat, Bigfoot and the G-man figured. When these entities show up in town, Barrett and Amelia read Edi's books for the first time, trying to make sense of it all. What did she know and was it connected with her death?
I only recommend the novel to those who truly love the weird. It is like China Mieville decided to write a story set in small town America. I can't quite explain why I liked it, but I did. It made me think of some of the people and ideas that seem to have taken over our country in recent years and wonder if they didn't come out of a speculative genre or some parallel universe.
Thanks once again to another Los Angeles based indie publisher, Rare Bird Books, and to The Nervous Breakdown for sending the book out.
The author grew up in Missouri, he likes to work for nonprofits that actually help people, and he runs an unusual podcast where every episode is the first episode without any sequels, or something like that.
Central to the story are a middle-aged divorced couple, Barrett and Amelia, who lost their only child, a daughter named Edi. That loss destroyed their marriage leaving them each to become rather isolated eccentrics. The violent death of a teenage boy touches both of them in different ways but prompts them to reconnect and reflect on Edi's passing.
Several other odd characters of the town turn out to have their own connections to Barrett, including an involved story concerning lots of dogs, a talking goat, a Bigfoot-like entity that ravages the countryside, and a G-man (supposedly a government agent who acts more like an alien.)
The story circles around, back into the past, and through many instances of the Missouri River flooding. During her short life, Edi wrote several fantasy books in which the goat, Bigfoot and the G-man figured. When these entities show up in town, Barrett and Amelia read Edi's books for the first time, trying to make sense of it all. What did she know and was it connected with her death?
I only recommend the novel to those who truly love the weird. It is like China Mieville decided to write a story set in small town America. I can't quite explain why I liked it, but I did. It made me think of some of the people and ideas that seem to have taken over our country in recent years and wonder if they didn't come out of a speculative genre or some parallel universe.
Thanks once again to another Los Angeles based indie publisher, Rare Bird Books, and to The Nervous Breakdown for sending the book out.
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November 20, 2020not bad, pretty good
April 9, 2025
branson has a unique talent for writing the most disgusting sex scenes ever put to paper. unfortunately none of them appear in this book
November 13, 2020
I Really enjoyed this book.
If you’ve listened to his podcast or engaged with any of his other work you’ll notice all sorts of chunks of dialogue and characterization in this book that are so unmistakably Branson— a testament to the strength of his voice as a writer and his distinct brand of humor.
It’s a sad book. It’s not all sad and it doesn’t necessarily leave you feeling sad, but it’s a sad book. The tone of the novel is driven primarily by the setting. The tone is that of a guy at a bar saying “yep” and drinking his beer in silence; the setting is a small town on the Missouri River that never really recovered from the 2008 collapse. A town that, like Barrett, has just been “watching baseball and drinking for years now.”
Branson’s mastery of this setting and these kinds of characters allow him to pull off the very strange science fiction and fantasy elements of the story. It doesn’t feel like weirdness for its own sake, it feels intentional as hell, and adds so much depth to the characters and their world and their trauma. There’s a lot to unpack in those bits and I think it would take a slower and closer re-read for me to really parse out the metaphor and prophecy happening in these scenes, but they nevertheless impose a surreal and inescapable mood over the whole thing that really makes this story unique.
Anyways. I loved it, and I’m exited to revisit it in a couple weeks for a more careful read. I think I’ll buy a few copies to give as Christmas gifts too— I think this novel has a wide appeal.
If you’ve listened to his podcast or engaged with any of his other work you’ll notice all sorts of chunks of dialogue and characterization in this book that are so unmistakably Branson— a testament to the strength of his voice as a writer and his distinct brand of humor.
It’s a sad book. It’s not all sad and it doesn’t necessarily leave you feeling sad, but it’s a sad book. The tone of the novel is driven primarily by the setting. The tone is that of a guy at a bar saying “yep” and drinking his beer in silence; the setting is a small town on the Missouri River that never really recovered from the 2008 collapse. A town that, like Barrett, has just been “watching baseball and drinking for years now.”
Branson’s mastery of this setting and these kinds of characters allow him to pull off the very strange science fiction and fantasy elements of the story. It doesn’t feel like weirdness for its own sake, it feels intentional as hell, and adds so much depth to the characters and their world and their trauma. There’s a lot to unpack in those bits and I think it would take a slower and closer re-read for me to really parse out the metaphor and prophecy happening in these scenes, but they nevertheless impose a surreal and inescapable mood over the whole thing that really makes this story unique.
Anyways. I loved it, and I’m exited to revisit it in a couple weeks for a more careful read. I think I’ll buy a few copies to give as Christmas gifts too— I think this novel has a wide appeal.
June 6, 2023
it's good. i bought this book expecting to halfheartedly defend a funny online guy but i think funny online guys may be the only bespoke, capable semi-professional writers left. brilliantly illustrates how escapist creative activities like teenage novel-writing and DnD help folks transcend the geographies of addiction, boredom, and death that comprise america's most forsaken rural locales.
the exact logic of branson's universe is somehow both immensely lucid and accessible--you kind of immediately get what's going on with Edi's novels and the strange things happening to Barrett in his solitude--while also being very obscure and elusive. i've never encountered a book that's as much a fun fantastical romp and a tricky mieville-inspired puzzle at the same time
(i know branson disavowed any direct stylistic connection to individual authors, except for one, on the E1 conversation with keith buckley, but china mieville is here whether branson's read him or not; the style and theme similarities are remarkable. same with twin peaks, which will be an unavoidable part of fiction for the better part of the century, i guess)
the fantasy novel portions are far and away the most fun bits, and i think the book could've gone on even longer with a few more; not sure how much got edited out. it'll be fun to reread and try to piece together everything that's bleeding over between Barrett's world & his daughter's extended universe; i'm sure i missed most of it
the exact logic of branson's universe is somehow both immensely lucid and accessible--you kind of immediately get what's going on with Edi's novels and the strange things happening to Barrett in his solitude--while also being very obscure and elusive. i've never encountered a book that's as much a fun fantastical romp and a tricky mieville-inspired puzzle at the same time
(i know branson disavowed any direct stylistic connection to individual authors, except for one, on the E1 conversation with keith buckley, but china mieville is here whether branson's read him or not; the style and theme similarities are remarkable. same with twin peaks, which will be an unavoidable part of fiction for the better part of the century, i guess)
the fantasy novel portions are far and away the most fun bits, and i think the book could've gone on even longer with a few more; not sure how much got edited out. it'll be fun to reread and try to piece together everything that's bleeding over between Barrett's world & his daughter's extended universe; i'm sure i missed most of it
December 16, 2020
Pretty good! Not bad!
November 11, 2020
Very good. Sad and funny.
November 12, 2020
It’s a really good book. So proud of that big beautiful Branson boy. I teared up a bunch of times and chuckled and guffawed even more times.
“PRETTY GOOD.”
“NOT BAD.”
“PRETTY GOOD.”
“NOT BAD.”
November 13, 2020
Only thing wasted was time and paper
December 31, 2020
Pretty decent effort from one of the minds behind the "3 Joe Bidens Talk to Each Other for 40 Minutes" podcast event
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June 17, 2025A very sad and very funny surrealist book about grief in Missouri. I really loved it
April 9, 2024
I love how human this book was. It's a look at the rural experience that treats the people who make it up with more care, depth, and empathy than I've seen almost anywhere else. Branson's narrative voice is casual but considered, fair to its subjects in a way that asks the reader to inhabit them before we judge. I was honestly so charmed and invested in the lavish descriptions of Iron County and its troubled inhabitants that I found myself wishing there was more of it before the plot kicked in.
As for the plot, as an exercise in ambiguity and existentialism I think it broadly succeeds. Even if the final stretch left me a little confused, I'm content to think that was the point, and I respect the choice to let me sit with that confusion. The chapters written as if lifted from a teenager's original fantasy novel were really wonderful even through the intentionally clunky prose, and I would eagerly pick up a full-length version if it ever existed.
At its core, Water, Wasted is a story about grief and healing, or about choosing not to heal out of a false sense of obligation to those we grieve; but it's also not a depressing slog behind broken characters. It's a story about facing the existential--nature, death, unseen forces--and being just as bewildered and curious about them as you might be sad.
As for the plot, as an exercise in ambiguity and existentialism I think it broadly succeeds. Even if the final stretch left me a little confused, I'm content to think that was the point, and I respect the choice to let me sit with that confusion. The chapters written as if lifted from a teenager's original fantasy novel were really wonderful even through the intentionally clunky prose, and I would eagerly pick up a full-length version if it ever existed.
At its core, Water, Wasted is a story about grief and healing, or about choosing not to heal out of a false sense of obligation to those we grieve; but it's also not a depressing slog behind broken characters. It's a story about facing the existential--nature, death, unseen forces--and being just as bewildered and curious about them as you might be sad.
May 17, 2021
Another interesting selection from The Nervous Breakdown Bookclub (the CSA of books!). The accidental death of a high school student, after leaving his girlfriend's home in the wee hours of the morning starts this multi-genre novel. The small, rural Missouri town shames the girl, somehow their relationship led the popular boy's death. The girl is taken in by a divorced woman whose daughter's death by cancer years early led to the divorce. And it goes from there - the daughter had written some fantasy novels whose characters somehow appear in this town (Bigfoot, a talking goat, "Company Man"). It's hodgepodge to be sure, but some great characters and compelling writing make it a good read.
February 15, 2021
This book accurately tracks the various permutations of grief and blame, and the ways that the two intersect and also how they evolve into pity and anger. And while it's doing this it also shows us a loving but funny depiction of fantasy novels, as written by someone who loves fantasy novels as much as they want to make fun of them it seems. And the juxtaposition of these two things, the ways that we can access someone through what they make real for us and that existing after they're gone is... well... it's really touching and sad but the way its done here is also lighthearted and funny.
April 5, 2021
A bit of a gently surreal fever dream. The book paints a delicate picture of the Missouri River, sprinkled with interjections that lightly hint at relevance.
Is it a book about grief? Bigfoot? Meth? Honestly no idea, but I thought it was beautiful.
Is it a book about grief? Bigfoot? Meth? Honestly no idea, but I thought it was beautiful.
The rain slowed to a drizzle. He parked the truck and looked around. His windshield was cracked in multiple places. He stared at the rabbit's ear caught in his windshield wipers as it went back and forth, back and forth. He opened the door and he walked towards his house and he opened the door.
May 26, 2021
I absolutely adored this book from page 1. I was intrigued because of Alex's comedy and had a hunch this might be special. And it really is. It combines character studies and relationships of small town Missouri with unpredictable fantasy elements for lack of a better term. I rarely laugh out loud reading a book. Usually just a chuckle at most but this is consistently funny throughout. It is by no means a comedy. It is often heartbreaking but always compelling. I really hope Alex keeps writing.
I really don't want to give away anything else sufficed to say this is a must-read.
I really don't want to give away anything else sufficed to say this is a must-read.
June 18, 2021
Branson’s writing about rural small town America pierces and hits at many of the themes one experiences growing up in a small, southern town without making any of the characters into the stereotypes often found of rural people today in media. Water, Wasted blends fiction and reality for the characters, at points the novel reads as a fever dream, or in the style of the delirium of a thick humid summer day. An amazing debut, I hope we get to see more of Alex Branson’s work in the near future.
November 20, 2023
i swear i once heard branson name alice munro as an influence and, if so, it's evident all over his prose. these characters' relationships are at once banal and profound, mainly a byproduct of how effortlessly branson writes realistic, irreverent dialogue. also the little intratextual snippets of edi's novels are so fucking awesome and funny; i'd absolutely buy a standalone feature-length copy of the riverside ascetic.
March 16, 2025
This was the first book I read during covid, when I had forgotten books were even an option. I think Branson is a very talented comedic writer, but I was very taken in by his honest and vivid depiction of a mature, even aging small town world juxtaposed with a story within a story of a teenager's wish to be an adult mirroring the warping changes of an unseen underside of local society. I wish it went on for twice as long.
September 7, 2025
Really feels inadequate trying to put my words and thoughts together on this. It’s a pretty sad and very funny book. There’s a real understanding and appreciation for just how hard it can be to be a person, and the absurdity and humor that can come with that. And also, how we can really only get through it together.
Really glad Branson got weird with it a bit in this one.
One of my favorite books I’ve ever read for sure.
Really glad Branson got weird with it a bit in this one.
One of my favorite books I’ve ever read for sure.
November 19, 2020
If you're familiar with Branson's other work, his voice and sensibility are unmistakably present in this book. But at the same time, I was constantly surprised with the range of emotions he was able to evoke. It's insane that someone so funny can also be such a good author AND dunk a basketball.
August 22, 2022
Water, Wasted is for the questions that don’t have any answers. It’s for the midnight glancers and the topless dancers.
I said it's all good, and it's all in fun. Now get in the pit and try to love someone.
I said it's all good, and it's all in fun. Now get in the pit and try to love someone.
September 1, 2022
Wonderful. Oozing with magic and fantasy but full of completely real humans, with basically perfect dialogue. Teased you with some unfinished threads, but I think I might prefer it this way. I wanna see the HBO adaptation immediately.
June 16, 2023
i bought this one because i thought alex is really funny on the episode one podcast, mostly just to support him. didn't know the first thing about it. but it was really, staggeringly good! he's got the juice!
August 1, 2023
Fun, interesting. Love and grief are analyzed(I think) along with rural America to some extent. Doesn’t go on too long, consistently concise and pretty funny throughout. Gets really weird in a non annoying postmodern cool Vonnegut kinda way.
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November 9, 2020Just finished. Liked it a lot. I will have to write an extended review later.
November 13, 2020
funny, sad, and sweet. Loved it. Would recommend
November 25, 2020
Branson owns
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews