Michael "Caruso” Taylor is a man with a problem. He can't speak. In fact, he can't do much of anything the way he once used to. A successful English professor, he can hardly compose a coherent sentence, or remember much of anything he once knew. On top of this, he is slowly regressing toward infancy. He calls it "The Wasties," a condition with no known cause and no known cure. He throws his sippy cup. He bites his nurse. He tries to wall himself into his bedroom. He tries to run away. But as Caruso slips further and further away from sanity and adulthood, his mental life begins to soar.

Distinctive, funny and deeply affecting, The Wasties presents a unique vision that offers insights into madness, aging, notions of success, and the desire to abdicate from the responsibilities of adulthood.

Frederick Reuss is the author of Horace Afoot and Henry of Atlantic City. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two daughters.