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michael_taylor's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.5
Way overstayed it's welcome.
Hard to root for anybody when everybody is a horrible liar, criminal or weirdo.
This novel felt like the author was trying too hard to deal with Trump, COVID, cultural decay.
There were WAY too many characters. It felt like a season of Fargo on TV, but not as good.
Hard to root for anybody when everybody is a horrible liar, criminal or weirdo.
This novel felt like the author was trying too hard to deal with Trump, COVID, cultural decay.
There were WAY too many characters. It felt like a season of Fargo on TV, but not as good.
charles9012's review against another edition
3.0
A solid three stars. Not sure the book needed all the "mythomania" interludes.
bookjunkie1975's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cody240fc's review against another edition
3.0
O'Brien is as fed up with the bullshit as the rest of us are. In his latest and supposedly last novel, O'Brien addresses the mythomania crisis that is devouring the country. 'America Fantastica' is a dark satire with a story that fits neatly into the American genre. That is, road trips, guns, gambling, sex and politics. O'Brien has a history of astutely portraying certain eras of America history, especially the 70's, and he has captured the zeitgeist of the last 8 years here in America. It's very good, but the satire is too thick at times, which makes certain aspects of the story too strange for my taste. The characters are really well done, and O'Brien certainly has not lost a step with his writing, but I cannot quite call this excellent. It's a strong three stars, and I think this book will be worth reading thirty years down the road when someone wants to understand what the hell was going on during this time in America. It reminded me that I want to go back and read some of his older work. I haven't read him since high school.
allisonmc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5