Review: Be Now, Buddy What by Dan Spencer

Description:
A naked man survives a meteoric plunge from a cloudless sky, and a small-town TV reporter rushes to get the story. The fallen man claims amnesia and, despite widespread efforts, no one can identify him. The press dubs him Buddy What. When no clues surface about his identity and as details about the mystery man are examined, Internet devotees start worshipping him as a celestial being. With trepidation, he accepts the call to become a spiritual guru. But as Buddy What grows into a worldwide phenomenon, controversies follow. Be Now, Buddy What is a satire about fame, the news media, organized religion, the Internet, and people who let strangers into their homes

Details:
Kindle Edition, 304 pages
Published 2011
url: http://www.buddywhat.com
(Goodreads)
 
Review:
I finished this book a few days ago, and have had to think about this review.  Because that is what happens after you read Be Now, Buddy What.  You think.
 
Dan Spencer emailed me about reviewing Be Now, Buddy What and it seemed like a very interesting, funny book.  So I said “yes.”  And I’m glad I did.  What Spencer has created is a witty, entertaining, tongue-in-cheek look at people’s need to belong, to have something to believe in, humanity’s fickleness, and the media’s ruthlessness and tactlessness.
 
It is abundantly clear that Spencer meant for  Buddy What to be a commentary on society.  Buddy What never chooses to be deified, to be a prophet, etc.  He never picks a title, he is simply a “messenger,”  a facilitator between people and their life awareness.  But people do it anyway.  Buddy simply wants to get people to question how they approach their lives and being.  People and the media jump to all kinds of conclusion, believe and publish what they want to and ignore anything that is counter to their view.  Isn’t that just like society and the media?  Well, maybe not as a whole, but work with me here, ok?
 
This book will make you laugh and it will make you wonder.  It will offend you and justify you at the same time.  Nothing is off limits, and that is what makes this unique.  You can read it as a work of fiction, or you can read it and think about it and maybe expand your world view a little.  I think that Spencer wrote masterfully.  Reading this is easy and fun.  It’s not what I thought, and I think that’s a good thing.  Thank you , Mr. Spencer, for opening me up the world of Buddy What.
 
3.5 Stars: Read this, then “Be now.”
 
Get to reading,
Richard
 
*This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*