Ben Fountain is a born, bred and dead Carolina kid. (I’ll ignore the Duke years.) While he spent much of his legal career in Texas, he was born and raised in NC, educated at Carolina, and now lives in NC. And he’s written one helluva political satire in Rasputin Swims the Potomac (Flatiron 2026). I’m going to be honest – this would have been five stars if I’d been a bit further removed from the storyline; one might say “too soon” when it comes to its humor as the daily news seemed a continuation of the fictional novel I was reading.
The premise? The Supreme Court has just handed down a decision that allows President ____ to run for a third term. (All names for the presidential family are redacted, but we all know.) Marjorie Taylor Green is his current VP, but he’s looking for someone new. Enter Rasputin, a wrestler who has legally changed his name to his stage name and believes he is *the* Rasputin. You know, the one assassinated in 1916 due to his political influence. Rasputin seems to have a calming effect over people, and he’s a magnetic personality. There’s a “weeping” sickness overtaking the country, and Rasputin seems able to cure a person with a brief touch and murmured words. The president thinks this figure will make an excellent VP choice. Enter Clarence Thomas. No, not that one. A reporter. Clarence uncovers a money trail that shows Rasputin has backing to run against the current president. The two enigmatic figures are pitted against each other, and there are rumors about the First Lady and the wrestler’s relationship. There’s also Faith, a White House staffer – a former star from a country music reality TV show whose father is top secret. Faith is experiencing her own anxiety, her world seeming to glitch – more so when she’s on her phone – and she seems to be having a crisis of faith.
The novel is told from varying view points, press releases, White House memos (the errors in these are intentional and hilarious), and newspaper articles. While the ending was not satisfying, I’m honestly not sure how this novel could have concluded.
A Girl Named Tommi 