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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Slow plot, too much dialogue, confusing characters, lack of character development except two main characters, dull story. Some paragraphs were interesting writing but they were also cryptic and difficult to understand. Did not care about characters or story.
I'm actually devastated that I didn't like this more. The Things They Carried quite literally changed the trajectory of my life (shout-out to my 11th grade English teacher) so I've truly been waiting for this one for more than a decade. But this was either the subtlest satire because I didn't get it at all, or the most on-the-nose novel with zero depth.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tim O'Brien's America Fantastica is a wild and satirical ride across modern America following a cast of unhinged and morally questionable characters. The story begins with Boyd Halverson, who decides to rob a small town bank more for entertainment than profit. In the process, he takes bank teller Angie Bing hostage, and the two embark on a chaotic road trip across multiple states, getting further entangled with an assortment of criminals, eccentrics, and law enforcement also pursuing them.
Along the way, O'Brien uses the narrative to comment pointedly on the current state of political division, conspiracy theories, and the widespread "mythomania," or tendency to embrace lies and fantastical narratives, that has taken hold in America in recent years. Some of these satirical analyses were too heavy-handed and detracted from the flow of the adventure story. The characters themselves are often outrageous caricatures, though some still manage to exhibit flickers of humanity beneath their faults.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m conflicted about this book. I love Tim O’Brien - The Things They Carried and In the Lake of the Woods are two of my favorite books of all time. In some ways, this is a great book. In other ways it’s a complete mess. It could lose 100 pages and accomplish exactly what it did in a bloated 449. I do appreciate the strong take on the post-truth America we unfortunately find ourselves living in, and, through fiction, he calls out the conservative politicians who have brought us there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Fatphobia
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes