"Truth" and American Politics

To a broad extent, America Fantastica is primarily intended as a critique of Trump-era American politics, focusing on the spread of "mythomania" throughout the country in the wake of an unnamed president's election. O'Brien is interested in understanding both the causes and ramifications of the invention of facts in political life, and explores the untruthfulness of many of his characters through the lens of the American political moment. However, he is also cautious about levying these critiques outside the broader scope of American capitalism, which he seems to find ultimately responsible for the phenomenon of "alternative facts."

Throughout the novel, the central plot is cut by examples of "mythomania," or compulsive lying, taking place throughout the country. The instances of this particular phenomenon become increasingly absurd, and, interestingly, it becomes obvious that Boyd had a hand in delivering them after his journalism career...