I just finished Tim O’Brien’s new book, America Fantastica. This book won’t be for everyone, but if you like literary fiction with a touch of crime and a road trip, this one is for you. Or if you’re a big Tim O’Brien fan. I’m all of those things, which means I really, really loved this book.
The back cover of the paperback has this blurb:
When Boyd Halverson—star journalist turned JPenney manager turned notorious online disinformation troll—robs a California bank and takes the teller, the intrepid Angie Bing, hostage, he has one goal before the authorities catch up with him: settle a score with the man who destroyed his life. Soon, the pair are being trailed by hitmen, jealous lovers, ex-cons, an heiress, a billionaire shipping tycoon, a three-tour veteran of Iraq, and the ghosts of Boyd's past. In the tradition of Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain, Tim O'Brien's America Fantastica brilliantly satirizes a nation and a time that has become dangerously unmoored from truth and greedy for outlandish fantasy.
That blurb and the cover copy in general really focus on misinformation, recent events like COVID, and our current polarized political climate. I wasn’t sure if I would like that. I tend to like more subtle fiction. In my experience, when a writer tries too hard to make a point, they often forget to bring the story with them.
That’s not the case here—the story is quite the ride.
When I discovered O’Brien in college, I was drawn to the way his books were as much about story itself as they were whatever tale he was telling. This is the distinction between story truth and happening truth, an idea central to The Things They Carried. Those same ideas are at play here in America Fantastica but written in fresh form and in contemporary circumstances. That’s where all the lies, misinformation, and mythos aspects of this story sit within America Fantastica.
Those ideas might be featured here, but this is a fantastic story, too, with quick wit and clever writing from O’Brien. Tim O’Brien is one of my favorite authors. If I had to name a top two, it would be him and Flannery O’Connor. That’s how much I love his work. America Fantastic lives up to my expectations and anticipation. Highly recommend!