America Fantastica

Tim O'Brien's new novel is a blast, but it reads more like Pynchon than O'Brien. It's a crazy crime story, but it's really about “mythomania,” the epidemic of lying, fake news, and conspiracy theory that has gripped America in recent years. Trump and epidemic deniers take their share of criticism here, but so do the nutty Q-anon believers and Fox News talking heads (if not by name). This will not win O'Brien fans among conservatives, but he's right on with his take. Mythomania certainly is a disease and it's contagious, but the cure is to tell the truth.