Mel just never got around to this not sure if it just wasn't his thing. Bank robbers, not Vietnam, not history

Didn't love it - didn't care - didn't finish

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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HOW DOES THE PUBLISHER DESCRIBE AMERICA FANTASTICA?
HarperCollins.com says:

At 11:34 a.m. one Saturday in August 2019, Boyd Halverson strode into Community National Bank in Northern California.

“How much is on hand, would you say?” he asked the teller. “I’ll want it all.”

“You’re robbing me?”

He revealed a Temptation .38 Special.

The teller, a diminutive redhead named Angie Bing, collected eighty-one thousand dollars.

Boyd stuffed the cash into a paper grocery bag.

“I’m sorry about this,” he said, “but I’ll have to ask you to take a ride with me.”

So begins the adventure of Boyd Halverson—star journalist turned notorious online disinformation troll turned JCPenney manager—and his irrepressible hostage, Angie Bing. Haunted by his past and weary of his present, Boyd has one goal before the authorities catch up with him: settle a score with the man who destroyed his life. By Monday the pair reach Mexico; by winter, they are in a lakefront mansion in Minnesota. On their trail are hitmen, jealous lovers, ex-cons, an heiress, a billionaire shipping tycoon, a three-tour veteran of Iraq, and the ghosts of Boyd’s past. Everyone, it seems, except the police.

In the tradition of Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain, America Fantastica delivers a biting, witty, and entertaining story about the causes and costs of outlandish fantasy, while also marking the triumphant return of an essential voice in American letters. And at the heart of the novel, amid a teeming cast of characters, readers will delight in the tug-of-war between two memorable and iconic human beings—the exuberant savior-of-souls Angie Bing and the penitent but compulsive liar Boyd Halverson. Just as Tim O’Brien’s modern classic, The Things They Carried, so brilliantly reflected the unromantic truth of war, America Fantastica puts a mirror to a nation and a time that has become dangerously unmoored from truth and greedy for delusion.

HOW WAS THE NARRATION?
It was fine—any problems I had with the book weren't on Wyman's side. He didn't work too hard on making each character stand out from the others with a distinct voice so that in each scene you knew immediately who was talking, but this isn't the kind of book that lends itself to that. Also, the book didn't become hard to follow because of that—nor did individual scenes. That's all I really care about (as much as I might enjoy very distinct characters when the narrator does that).

The one heavily accented character's accent didn't sound quite right to my ears, but I'm not precisely sure what their accent should've sounded like. And...well, in context, I'm not sure their accent should've sounded right.

Basically, Wyman did well enough, and I'd easily listen to something else he narrated.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT AMERICA FANTASTICA?
I'm going to sound a little self-contradictory here. I think I missed most of the point of this book/narrative, and O'Brien was as subtle as a pallet of bricks.

There are intercalary chapters/sections (I'd have to see the print version to know for sure) describing the spread of "mythomania" across the nation like an infection (to be followed by COVID). And this is very clearly what the book is supposed to be about—contemporary America's hunger for lies, half-truths, alternative facts, myths, whatever you want to call it. I'm not disinclined to argue with this as a whole—I just found these portions wanting. I'm not sure what it was I didn't respond to here--lack of nuance and a feeling that O'Brien was trying to be too clever, come close, but really I just can't put my finger on it.

Then there's the narrative—narratives. I didn't connect with any of them for very long (if ever). I kept going because many of them seemed to be on the verge of paying off, or at least giving me something to sink my teeth into. If I didn't know this was a satirical novel from the description, I wouldn't have picked up on it. I'm not really sure I get everything that was being satired (and really don't care). The best way I can describe the storylines was that someone took a bunch of discarded ideas from disparate Elmore Leonard novels and mashed them together, whether they fit or not, and without Leonard's skill/craft—then threw COVID into it at the end.

O'Brien had some very clever ideas, some nice writing, and a good line here and there. But the ideas didn't pay off, the writing went nowhere, and the good lines weren't worth the effort to get to them.

Maybe this was the right book at the wrong time for me and if I'd read/listened to it a few months ago—or a few months from now—I'd be recommending it, maybe even raving about it. But I listened to it now, so that's what we're stuck with. So the me of "now" says that it was an endurance race for me. A determined effort for me to understand why I should like this. A reminder that the sunk cost fallacy is something that I'm very susceptible to.

I'm more than prepared for people to come along and tell me why I should've appreciated this. But I can't recommend this to anyone, and I would recommend you look elsewhere for a good commentary on the U.S. ( )

This book is all over the place. There are too many characters, too many plot lines, and most make no sense at all.

The characters are not well developed at all. I never felt like I really knew Boyd, Angie, Evelyn, or Doug. They might as well have been cardboard cutouts. The dialogue was stilted and unoriginal. All the characters spoke alike, despite being from different parts of the country.

Two major issues with the book were its length and number of characters. The book comes in at 450 pages, at least 200 pages too long. Much of the minutia could have been cut and the book would have been much improved. There were too many characters, many of whom were minor characters that did not need to even be named.

Several things did not add up concerning the plot. Boyd robs a bank where he has an account and the teller knows him personally. No one is that stupid, not even Boyd. Plus, he had over $70,000 on deposit in the bank and he only got $80,000 from the robbery. Not worth the risk for a net of $10,000. The teller he robs goes with Boyd as he leaves the bank after the robbery. She had several opportunities to escape while they were on the run, but she never availed herself of those opportunities. That made no sense, especially since she was not a part of the robbery plan. The bank does not report the robbery to the police. Really? Reasons are given for this, but they made no sense.

The author tried to inject a lot of humor into the prose, but it all fell flat. Imagine 400 pages of “dad jokes.” I think you get the idea. Poor execution.

The ending may have been the worst part of the book. The final two chapters read like a newspaper roundup of how things ended for everyone. What a terrible ending. The book was difficult to read at times as it was so slow and labored. It took much longer to finish than it should have. I do NOT recommend this book. ( )

This book is very different when compared to O'Brien's classics about the Viet Nam war "Going after Cacciato" The Things They Carried' both of which were award winners. This book which is h is first novel in 20 years is a funny, satirical road trip taking place from August 2019 until just before the 2020 election. The basic plot surrounds Boyd Halverson a late 40 JC Penny manager in the small Northern California town of Fulda who robs the local bank of $81k and takes the bank clerk(Angie Bing) as a friendly kidnap. They begin a year long road trip through the US while being pursued by various characters of dubious morals. This book is funny but the attempts to satirize the Trump era of lying and mis truths is nothing new. Because the characters are so outlandish it all comes across as an entertaining cartoon. O'Brien had a lot of crime including murders which were treated in a very cavalier way. Of course in the end the bad guys got their proper justice and Boyd(the liar in chief) came to face some basic truths about his life. Again, the writing was excellent and taken as a funny caper book, it is an easy pleasurable read( reminded me of Carl Hiaasen) but if you are looking for a deep dive into the psyche of the American soul in 2020 etc. then this misses the mark. Try his other early novels. ( )