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Rasputin Swims the Potomac
From the award-winning, bestselling author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk comes a biting satire of American politics and a searingly intelligent novel about the cruel absurdities of contemporary life, centering on a world champion professional wrestler with presidential ambitions
Reporter Clarence Thomas Jr. is looking for a great story, former country music teen star Faith Spack has parlayed her fame into a job at the White House, and the two-term incumbent president is campaigning for a constitutionally dubious third term.
After an outbreak at a campaign rally, a mysterious new pandemic of “weeping sickness” sweeps the nation, threatening the president’s hold on the Oval Office. Desperate to retain power, he enlists the mystical pro wrestler Rasputin to help ensure his reelection and guarantee additional seasons of his presidential reality TV show, The Real West Wing.
But as Rasputin’s appeal threatens to exceed the president’s, and the wrestler’s supposedly supernatural powers start to seem like the real thing, the campaign finds itself trapped in a spandex-clad destiny no number of executive orders can control, one in which both Clarence and Faith are compelled to play increasingly large parts.
Hilarious, compelling, and tragically relevant, Rasputin Swims the Potomac is both an escape and a warning, a scathing satire that explores the twists and turns of American democracy as it hurtles toward authoritarianism.
Reporter Clarence Thomas Jr. is looking for a great story, former country music teen star Faith Spack has parlayed her fame into a job at the White House, and the two-term incumbent president is campaigning for a constitutionally dubious third term.
After an outbreak at a campaign rally, a mysterious new pandemic of “weeping sickness” sweeps the nation, threatening the president’s hold on the Oval Office. Desperate to retain power, he enlists the mystical pro wrestler Rasputin to help ensure his reelection and guarantee additional seasons of his presidential reality TV show, The Real West Wing.
But as Rasputin’s appeal threatens to exceed the president’s, and the wrestler’s supposedly supernatural powers start to seem like the real thing, the campaign finds itself trapped in a spandex-clad destiny no number of executive orders can control, one in which both Clarence and Faith are compelled to play increasingly large parts.
Hilarious, compelling, and tragically relevant, Rasputin Swims the Potomac is both an escape and a warning, a scathing satire that explores the twists and turns of American democracy as it hurtles toward authoritarianism.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2026
About the author
Ben Fountain
13 books408 followersBen Fountain's fiction has appeared in Harper's, The Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All Story, and he has been awarded an O. Henry Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, and the PEN/Hemingway Award. He lives with his wife and their two children in Dallas, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
June 9, 2026
The only person unsurprised by the upcoming cage match on the White House lawn is Ben Fountain. His absurd new novel, Rasputin Swims the Potomac, is so timely it should win a Pulitzer Prize for Clairvoyance.
Timidity has long been the scourge of Trump satires. Even using Trump Math, it’s essentially impossible to inflate the president’s unpresidented inanity. One grasping parody after another has fallen short of the “short-fingered vulgarian,” either by curdling into frustrated rage or by shrinking next to some previously unfathomable corruption from the White House.
Fountain’s genius is to imagine the president being eclipsed by a new charlatan that Trump’s reign of chaos has prepared our weary country to crave. “We are living,” he writes, “in the era of the great spin-up, the mass unmooring of the American mind.”
In the opening pages of Rasputin Swims the Potomac, the Supreme Court has cleared the way for the president to run for a third term, and Congress is considering a bill to outlaw the Democratic Party. Victory seems secure until trouble erupts at an all-White MAGA rally. Suddenly, a psychic shockwave rips through the crowd. Supporters decked out in red, white, and blue begin crying hysterically, “dissolving in fits of violent tears.”
The “weeping sickness” has struck America with “mass incontinence of the tear ducts.” The grief is spreading fast.
A battalion of blathering cable news anchors, sociologists, psychiatrists, and brain specialists expound on this “behavioral deviation of....
You can read the rest of this review for free on Substack:
https://roncharles.substack.com/p/ben...
Timidity has long been the scourge of Trump satires. Even using Trump Math, it’s essentially impossible to inflate the president’s unpresidented inanity. One grasping parody after another has fallen short of the “short-fingered vulgarian,” either by curdling into frustrated rage or by shrinking next to some previously unfathomable corruption from the White House.
Fountain’s genius is to imagine the president being eclipsed by a new charlatan that Trump’s reign of chaos has prepared our weary country to crave. “We are living,” he writes, “in the era of the great spin-up, the mass unmooring of the American mind.”
In the opening pages of Rasputin Swims the Potomac, the Supreme Court has cleared the way for the president to run for a third term, and Congress is considering a bill to outlaw the Democratic Party. Victory seems secure until trouble erupts at an all-White MAGA rally. Suddenly, a psychic shockwave rips through the crowd. Supporters decked out in red, white, and blue begin crying hysterically, “dissolving in fits of violent tears.”
The “weeping sickness” has struck America with “mass incontinence of the tear ducts.” The grief is spreading fast.
A battalion of blathering cable news anchors, sociologists, psychiatrists, and brain specialists expound on this “behavioral deviation of....
You can read the rest of this review for free on Substack:
https://roncharles.substack.com/p/ben...
May 19, 2026
Very funny and over the top. To be honest, I bet I would have enjoyed this much more if we were not right in the midst of the horror that is the current administration. Too soon.
June 19, 2026
More of a 4.8, because I am not really sure where the ending took us and I have many unanswered questions. But the journey was break-neck speed hilarious and so on-the-nose. I’ve really been needing someone to give me a way to see the humor in our current situation.
In the category of “truth is stranger than fiction,“ the UFC cage fight on the White House lawn for someone’s 80th birthday last week comes in just a smidge crazier than the plot of this novel. Kudos to Ben Fountain for his precient imagination.
Have to add a shout-out to the old KLIF studio. That is the radio station I grew up with in my hometown of big D.
In the category of “truth is stranger than fiction,“ the UFC cage fight on the White House lawn for someone’s 80th birthday last week comes in just a smidge crazier than the plot of this novel. Kudos to Ben Fountain for his precient imagination.
Have to add a shout-out to the old KLIF studio. That is the radio station I grew up with in my hometown of big D.
May 27, 2026
The Supreme Court has eased the way for BLEEP to run for a third term, Congress is on the verge of outlawing the Democratic Party, and there’s a hit reality show called “The Real West Wing.” But, at BLEEP’s recent rallies, his loyal followers have been erupting into uncontrollable sobbing. The only person who has the power to Stop the Sob is a man who goes by the name Rasputin. He’s a wrestler who likes all things Russian so of course he’s invited to the Oval Office and asked to consult (ie stop any more outbreaks), enabling BLEEP to resume his political rallies.
The premise would be even funnier if it weren’t a waking nightmare! The satire is propelled by a young blonde assistant press secretary for BLEEP who is a former reality TV star and an older black reporter from Texas named Clarence Thomas Jr. Throughout the audiobook, the current president is referred to as BLEEP (the word bleep, not the sound), presumably to avoid reprisals. The narrator doesn’t go too far (or far enough) in mocking the president’s unhinged speechifying, but the thoughts and deeds are all there for easy comparison. Enjoyable (and scary).
My thanks to the author, publisher, @MacmillanAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #RasputinSwimsthePotomac for review purposes. Publication date: 9 June 2026, just in time for the midterms…
The premise would be even funnier if it weren’t a waking nightmare! The satire is propelled by a young blonde assistant press secretary for BLEEP who is a former reality TV star and an older black reporter from Texas named Clarence Thomas Jr. Throughout the audiobook, the current president is referred to as BLEEP (the word bleep, not the sound), presumably to avoid reprisals. The narrator doesn’t go too far (or far enough) in mocking the president’s unhinged speechifying, but the thoughts and deeds are all there for easy comparison. Enjoyable (and scary).
My thanks to the author, publisher, @MacmillanAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #RasputinSwimsthePotomac for review purposes. Publication date: 9 June 2026, just in time for the midterms…
July 18, 2026
I can only read one or two political satire books a year because the content can get old quick. This book is perfect though – witty, absurd, with a twist of magic. The audiobook is amazing too, Ron Butler sound JUST like President Bleep when he’s droning on about whatever he’s droning on about. He also emphasizes every typo in the press releases and it’s just absurdly hilarious!
America is beset by the weeping sickness, President Bleep wants to run for a third term, and a white house aide is trying to stand on her own merit. A professional wrestler, possibly Rasputin’s reincarnated spirit, or possibly some kind of antichrist, seems to be the best candidate to either run as VP or take down Bleep in the next election.
Throw in a Black reporter named Clarence Thomas (not, to be clear, the judge – yes he’s sure he’s not the judge), and you get multiple sides and angles of this sh!tshow as it unfurls. Clarence ended up being my favorite point of view!
I laughed, shook my head, laughed more, and had no f*cking idea what happened at the end, but the more I sit with it, the more I’m ok with how it ended! Rasputin got it in his head to swim 17 miles down the Potomac … But then what!? There’s so much random stuff in the book and you just have to read (or listen) to discover it!
1000% recommend the audiobook for anyone even slightly interested. If you dislike President Bleep, you might love this one, and I think it’s one of those rare audio performances that I’d recommend for getting the full effect!
America is beset by the weeping sickness, President Bleep wants to run for a third term, and a white house aide is trying to stand on her own merit. A professional wrestler, possibly Rasputin’s reincarnated spirit, or possibly some kind of antichrist, seems to be the best candidate to either run as VP or take down Bleep in the next election.
Throw in a Black reporter named Clarence Thomas (not, to be clear, the judge – yes he’s sure he’s not the judge), and you get multiple sides and angles of this sh!tshow as it unfurls. Clarence ended up being my favorite point of view!
I laughed, shook my head, laughed more, and had no f*cking idea what happened at the end, but the more I sit with it, the more I’m ok with how it ended! Rasputin got it in his head to swim 17 miles down the Potomac … But then what!? There’s so much random stuff in the book and you just have to read (or listen) to discover it!
1000% recommend the audiobook for anyone even slightly interested. If you dislike President Bleep, you might love this one, and I think it’s one of those rare audio performances that I’d recommend for getting the full effect!
May 31, 2026
Funny, timely, and (shudder) probably uncomfortably prescient.
July 19, 2026
I would like to thank the Just Dance 2 game for being the reason why this book caught my eye, because I can't read the title, see the cover without singing the song and doing the dance in my head.
Aside from that though, I knew this was going to be a joy from the first page when I saw President [Redacted] as the way this was actually presented. It is not subtle at all, in the best way possible; and I am absolutely both appalled and astounded at how horrifyingly realistic Ben Fountain was able to write the dialogue for the campaign speeches.
This has a very clear and obvious target market. And, if you are in that target market you will likely enjoy this and I suggest going in blind. My only complaint is that the end didn't feel like an end. To the extent that I questioned for a moment whether my copy was missing pages.
Aside from that though, I knew this was going to be a joy from the first page when I saw President [Redacted] as the way this was actually presented. It is not subtle at all, in the best way possible; and I am absolutely both appalled and astounded at how horrifyingly realistic Ben Fountain was able to write the dialogue for the campaign speeches.
This has a very clear and obvious target market. And, if you are in that target market you will likely enjoy this and I suggest going in blind. My only complaint is that the end didn't feel like an end. To the extent that I questioned for a moment whether my copy was missing pages.
May 31, 2026
I read an ARC provided by Netgalley*
The premise of this book piqued my interest but I really had no idea how enthralling and eerily parallel to real life this book would end up being. I truly enjoyed reading it from start to stop. If you are not a fan of Donald Trump then you will love this book as well. Rasputin stealing Melania from Donny was the icing on the cake. A couple of things I wish had gone differently:
- I wish Faith had taken back some of her own agency and leaked all of the trash and filth she had on both campaigns. I know we aren’t really supposed to like her, but I wish she would have had a different type of ending.
- Harvey should have died lol idc he sucks. Of course he doesn’t worry about birth control that’s silly women’s problems /s
- I think they really should have killed Rasputin at the end. It would have been interesting to martyr him in that way.
Clarence was the best, I enjoyed his POVs the most. I highly recommend reading this. I liked it so much I bought my own physical copy to keep.
The premise of this book piqued my interest but I really had no idea how enthralling and eerily parallel to real life this book would end up being. I truly enjoyed reading it from start to stop. If you are not a fan of Donald Trump then you will love this book as well. Rasputin stealing Melania from Donny was the icing on the cake. A couple of things I wish had gone differently:
- I wish Faith had taken back some of her own agency and leaked all of the trash and filth she had on both campaigns. I know we aren’t really supposed to like her, but I wish she would have had a different type of ending.
- Harvey should have died lol idc he sucks. Of course he doesn’t worry about birth control that’s silly women’s problems /s
- I think they really should have killed Rasputin at the end. It would have been interesting to martyr him in that way.
Clarence was the best, I enjoyed his POVs the most. I highly recommend reading this. I liked it so much I bought my own physical copy to keep.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2026
Audiobook Review: Rasputin Swims the Potomac by Ben Fountain
Ben Fountain’s Rasputin Swims the Potomac drops us into a near-future America where a president, referred to in the audiobook as “Bleep,” pursues a questionable third term, a national crying epidemic spreads without explanation, and political reality has fully collapsed into performance. Journalist Clarence Thomas Jr. and White House staffer Faith Spack move through this environment as reluctant translators of chaos, still trying to treat events like they can be reported in a straight line. Into this system arrives Rasputin, a professional wrestler claiming mystical inheritance, who becomes less a disruption than a logical outcome of how the country already functions.
The novel is most effective when it focuses on Clarence and Faith as parallel forms of exhaustion. Clarence operates like someone who has watched language lose its grip on events, still committed to documentation even as meaning evaporates in real time. Faith, embedded inside the White House machine, understands the opposite problem: everything is already language, messaging, and damage control, with reality arriving only after it has been processed into something usable. Neither character is positioned as transformative. They are observers with diminishing leverage, which makes their perspective more credible than heroic.
Rasputin’s rise gives the satire its sharpest edge. He is less a person than a container for attention, absorbing public anxiety, media hunger, and political desperation into a single spectacle that no institution can quite classify. Fountain is clearly interested in how quickly seriousness collapses when everything is competing for visibility, and how authority begins to resemble entertainment once enough people agree to treat it that way. The humor lands hardest in institutional responses, where officials attempt to manage increasingly surreal events using the same tired vocabulary of messaging, optics, and control.
The audiobook intensifies this effect through performance choices that emphasize mediation over immediacy. The rendering of the president as “Bleep” becomes more than a gag, turning political speech itself into something partially censored, partially stylized, and constantly filtered through broadcast logic. It makes the whole novel feel like it is already being processed for public consumption as it unfolds. By the end, the satire does not rely on escalation so much as recognition. The unsettling part is not how strange it becomes, but how little strain it takes to believe it already is.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Ben Fountain’s Rasputin Swims the Potomac drops us into a near-future America where a president, referred to in the audiobook as “Bleep,” pursues a questionable third term, a national crying epidemic spreads without explanation, and political reality has fully collapsed into performance. Journalist Clarence Thomas Jr. and White House staffer Faith Spack move through this environment as reluctant translators of chaos, still trying to treat events like they can be reported in a straight line. Into this system arrives Rasputin, a professional wrestler claiming mystical inheritance, who becomes less a disruption than a logical outcome of how the country already functions.
The novel is most effective when it focuses on Clarence and Faith as parallel forms of exhaustion. Clarence operates like someone who has watched language lose its grip on events, still committed to documentation even as meaning evaporates in real time. Faith, embedded inside the White House machine, understands the opposite problem: everything is already language, messaging, and damage control, with reality arriving only after it has been processed into something usable. Neither character is positioned as transformative. They are observers with diminishing leverage, which makes their perspective more credible than heroic.
Rasputin’s rise gives the satire its sharpest edge. He is less a person than a container for attention, absorbing public anxiety, media hunger, and political desperation into a single spectacle that no institution can quite classify. Fountain is clearly interested in how quickly seriousness collapses when everything is competing for visibility, and how authority begins to resemble entertainment once enough people agree to treat it that way. The humor lands hardest in institutional responses, where officials attempt to manage increasingly surreal events using the same tired vocabulary of messaging, optics, and control.
The audiobook intensifies this effect through performance choices that emphasize mediation over immediacy. The rendering of the president as “Bleep” becomes more than a gag, turning political speech itself into something partially censored, partially stylized, and constantly filtered through broadcast logic. It makes the whole novel feel like it is already being processed for public consumption as it unfolds. By the end, the satire does not rely on escalation so much as recognition. The unsettling part is not how strange it becomes, but how little strain it takes to believe it already is.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.
June 11, 2026
As someone who is not thrilled by the current state of politics, I was hesitant to read a political book, but after seeing other reviews decided to give it a try and I really enjoyed this!
Not-so-disguised President Bleep is running for a third term, but when a “weeping sickness” overtakes the nation, he calls to his friend, pro wrestler Rasputin for help. Rasputin believes himself to be The Rasputin Himself reincarnated, and later decides to run for president as well…
Our narrators are a minor celebrity named Faith, who is one of Bleep’s staffers, and a retired-professor-turned-reporter named Clarence Thomas (not to be confused with the other guy) who unwittingly becomes Rasputin's confidant.
The narrator is entertaining, and his Bleep impression is accurate enough to be amusing (but not so accurate that you can't stand to listen to it). My favorite bits are when he's reading misspelled memos and sounding confused as to what they're trying to say.
This book is a wild adventure and with as…. interesting….as the news has been lately it might not be too far off the mark, despite being a satire. However, it was super enjoyable the whole way through and I look forward to reading more of Ben Fountain's work. Thank you very much to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ALC and the opportunity to provide my honest thoughts.
Not-so-disguised President Bleep is running for a third term, but when a “weeping sickness” overtakes the nation, he calls to his friend, pro wrestler Rasputin for help. Rasputin believes himself to be The Rasputin Himself reincarnated, and later decides to run for president as well…
Our narrators are a minor celebrity named Faith, who is one of Bleep’s staffers, and a retired-professor-turned-reporter named Clarence Thomas (not to be confused with the other guy) who unwittingly becomes Rasputin's confidant.
The narrator is entertaining, and his Bleep impression is accurate enough to be amusing (but not so accurate that you can't stand to listen to it). My favorite bits are when he's reading misspelled memos and sounding confused as to what they're trying to say.
This book is a wild adventure and with as…. interesting….as the news has been lately it might not be too far off the mark, despite being a satire. However, it was super enjoyable the whole way through and I look forward to reading more of Ben Fountain's work. Thank you very much to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ALC and the opportunity to provide my honest thoughts.
Did Not Finish
July 17, 2026I liked it. It's just that I'm moving into a new BOOK STAGE OF LIFE. I'm thinking I want to devote my time to books that suck me in and that I'm not just reading to appreciate the aesthetics or that I'm reading because I missed them in college. (This stage might not last, but who knows?)
I also put down Doystoyevsky's THE IDIOT. Bad move?
I also put down Doystoyevsky's THE IDIOT. Bad move?
July 28, 2026
American political satire that had me snickering the entire book. I needed a good palette cleanser and this was perfect. The audio format was perfect for the Russian accent! Also- although this was supposed to be full of preposterous moments and far fetched possibilities, it all felt VERY possible to happen in our current political theater.
June 25, 2026
Went in blind and was instantly captivated; creative, clever, clairvoyant, highly entertaining but sadly bleep permeates every aspect of our lives, fortunately I didn't abandon the book instantly and grimaced and chuckled my way through in one sitting. 4.5-5
July 13, 2026
I appreciate what the author is doing here. It’s very clever. I read enough to see that much. I just don’t have time to finish what promised to be a hilarious satire.
July 18, 2026
Hhmm, not sure what to say. The premise sounded interesting, not sure how I feel about this farce/parody of current state.
June 9, 2026
Loved. Would have been 5 stars but I felt like we were missing something with the ending.
June 19, 2026
I am something of a dogged loyalist to finishing a book, because even a story with a bad ending is better, in my mind, than a story without an ending.
Imagine my dismay when I arrive at the ending to find it has none. This is not some sort of “interpret as you will…” metaphorical cliffhanger, it just stops. It reads like a chapter got lost in the mail and no one noticed.
Did the editor fall asleep? Did the author?
The story is entertaining in the way that reality television is entertaining. The book simultaneously makes a spectacle of itself while looking down its proverbial nose at such diversions. It’s an easy read and who among us doesn’t love a little schadenfreude?
Though, I have to feel badly for poor Clarence, the reporter, because all of his dialogue and inner narrative read like the author wrote him during Fall term after discovering Baldwin over summer break.
Imagine my dismay when I arrive at the ending to find it has none. This is not some sort of “interpret as you will…” metaphorical cliffhanger, it just stops. It reads like a chapter got lost in the mail and no one noticed.
Did the editor fall asleep? Did the author?
The story is entertaining in the way that reality television is entertaining. The book simultaneously makes a spectacle of itself while looking down its proverbial nose at such diversions. It’s an easy read and who among us doesn’t love a little schadenfreude?
Though, I have to feel badly for poor Clarence, the reporter, because all of his dialogue and inner narrative read like the author wrote him during Fall term after discovering Baldwin over summer break.
July 1, 2026
Could not read. The satire of the Trump presidency in all its horror is just not hilarious for me right now.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Rasputin swims The Potomac by Ben Fountain, when the book starts the character XX who is also America’s president is giving a speech when people in the front row start weeping they’re crying others are beating them up, due to the fact XX called them agitators but he would soon learn just like the rest of the country that this is a phenomenon sweeping America the weeping that is. A black reporter named Clarence Thomas (no relation to the Supreme Court Justice) works for a very little funded online paper called “The Dallas Star” just so happened to be at the speech that night but moving on to the next morning this is when we meet another POV Faith Harris a former reality star and current media manager for the White House. In the beginning of the book Faith has a slight crush and lots of affection for XX, his kids not so much. so when she gets a text while on a first date telling her to get to the White House immediately, that’s exactly what she does. When she shows up she notices that XX and XX Junior are watching wrestling it seems they just saw Rasputin curing people of the weeping disease. With a hug and a few words everyone at the wrestling match was cured. This is why he tells Faith they must get Rasputin the wrestler to endorse XX but what Rasputin eventually does is not only not endorse him but actually run against him so the president goes from telling everyone what a great guy Rasputin is to what a horrible horrible man he is, that wrestling is fake and he’s not even really Russian. To top it off Rasputin is gonna swim from an island in the Pacific to the mainland and although his backers say he’s doing it to reinforce his faith because that’s what he did back in Russia when he was in the monastery. If you think this is enough for a plot well trust me there’s lots more and it is such a great book I gave this book 5 stars cause it hits all the notes that make a great book compelling writing and interesting plot a great momentum in this book is longer than an average book but I read it all in one city I did not want to put this book down at all it’s not only funny you can absolutely tell the author knew his subject it was just a great book a great awesome phenomenal well done fantastic better than anything else type of book I wish I could scream it from the rooftops I can’t believe there’s only 12 reviews on this great great book watch when it comes out and word-of-mouth gets around everyone’s gonna be talking about this book. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview,
July 17, 2026
Imagine a time in the very near future when SCOTUS has cleared the president to run for a third term. The president, called BLEEP here, is going full steam ahead. In a sort of foreshadowing of the UFC fight on the White House lawn, BLEEP gets all excited about a pro wrestler called Rasputin when the man not only wipes out his opponent, but cures dozens of attendees who succumb to the “weeping sickness” that is sweeping the nation. BLEEP decides that getting Rasputin on board, maybe even as his VP, can only help. But as with all things Trump, BLEEP’s plans tend to have results far from his intention.
The observations of the Bleep presidency and Rasputin come from two insiders. Faith Spack is a young veteran/survivor of a reality TV music show who is now a junior White House staffer. Clarence Thomas Jr. (no relation to the SCOTUS justice) is a longtime journalist who has risked his life around the world and is now the international news reporter for a small Dallas-based online newspaper. Clarence is one of the first to see the importance of Rasputin’s charisma and power, and gains an in at Rasputin’s compound through retired football player and wrestler, Bitsy, who acts as Rasputin’s factotum and takes to Clarence when he comes to the compound hoping for an interview.
This sets us up for a truly crazy campaign season—though not so crazy that you can’t imagine something much like it happening with the current president and his motley crew of sociopaths. Trump blurred the line between reality TV and reality, and this book continues down that path to wildly comic—but stomach-churningly plausible—effect.
I don’t know what possessed me to pick this book, since I can barely stand the reality of today’s administration. I was surprised how entertaining I found it, but I am a fan of Ben Fountain’s Billy Flynn’s Long Halftime Walk, so I probably shouldn’t have been by how well-written and entertaining it is. I can also recommend the audiobook, with all the voices being well rendered.
The observations of the Bleep presidency and Rasputin come from two insiders. Faith Spack is a young veteran/survivor of a reality TV music show who is now a junior White House staffer. Clarence Thomas Jr. (no relation to the SCOTUS justice) is a longtime journalist who has risked his life around the world and is now the international news reporter for a small Dallas-based online newspaper. Clarence is one of the first to see the importance of Rasputin’s charisma and power, and gains an in at Rasputin’s compound through retired football player and wrestler, Bitsy, who acts as Rasputin’s factotum and takes to Clarence when he comes to the compound hoping for an interview.
This sets us up for a truly crazy campaign season—though not so crazy that you can’t imagine something much like it happening with the current president and his motley crew of sociopaths. Trump blurred the line between reality TV and reality, and this book continues down that path to wildly comic—but stomach-churningly plausible—effect.
I don’t know what possessed me to pick this book, since I can barely stand the reality of today’s administration. I was surprised how entertaining I found it, but I am a fan of Ben Fountain’s Billy Flynn’s Long Halftime Walk, so I probably shouldn’t have been by how well-written and entertaining it is. I can also recommend the audiobook, with all the voices being well rendered.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book was a timely and humorous take on current political happenings in the US. Set in the future (though it doesn't feel far off), President BLEEP, who is very clearly meant to be Trump, has decided to run for his third term in office. When an epidemic of a weeping virus takes over the public, BLEEP finds Rasputin, a pro wrestler, is the only one who can offer relief to those afflicted. Rasputin is presented like a modern-day second coming of Jesus, making seemingly miraculous acts that he attributes to god, but with the complications of present human life. When Rasputin decides to run for president, we see the events unfold through the lens of a former white house worker and semi-retired professor turned reporter. The characters remain gray, and the audience is never clear on who the 'good guys' really are, if such a thing even exists.
I enjoyed this book overall, especially as someone who is continually frustrated by the state of politics in our country. This felt very timely and a little cathartic. I thought the book was well-written and clever; I had no idea where it was going, but I was happily along for the ride. In some ways, this book reminded me of Carl Hiaasen's writing, which, in my mind, is a compliment. My only complaint is the ending! Alone in my room, I found myself saying out loud, "That's it?!?!" I feel like I know what the author was trying to achieve with this choice, but after so much time invested in the story, this felt very anticlimactic and a bit frustrating. On the other hand, those are the exact feelings a lot of us have while watching political leadership and subsequent choices unfold, so I guess it was on the nose...
I received an advanced audio copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I thought the narration was extremely well done and really added to my enjoyment of this book. The pacing, use of accents, and various tones were spot on.
I enjoyed this book overall, especially as someone who is continually frustrated by the state of politics in our country. This felt very timely and a little cathartic. I thought the book was well-written and clever; I had no idea where it was going, but I was happily along for the ride. In some ways, this book reminded me of Carl Hiaasen's writing, which, in my mind, is a compliment. My only complaint is the ending! Alone in my room, I found myself saying out loud, "That's it?!?!" I feel like I know what the author was trying to achieve with this choice, but after so much time invested in the story, this felt very anticlimactic and a bit frustrating. On the other hand, those are the exact feelings a lot of us have while watching political leadership and subsequent choices unfold, so I guess it was on the nose...
I received an advanced audio copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I thought the narration was extremely well done and really added to my enjoyment of this book. The pacing, use of accents, and various tones were spot on.
July 5, 2026
An audacious and blistering satire that reads like nonfiction. I had a rollicking good time reading it. I would love to know if Trump knows what Ben Fountain has written, not that Trump reads anyway, but his sycophantic staff surely has brough it to his attention. It's an excellent example of "fiction" mirroring our bizarre reality. Rasputin is a wrestling champion, a man devoted to God, Jesus and the Russian Orthodox Church, ordained, like Jesus, with the power to heal those with "the weeping sickness" that has infected the country. At first Trump loves the guy and sees him as a potential running mate. But like we didn't see this coming - Rasputin eventually embarks on his own campaign to run for President. Dwayne Johnson, are you listening? This is the role you were born to play. You even get to steal Melania away from her narcissistic pathological husband.
Fountain pulls no punches in this uncompromising take down of our pitiful reality. It's by turns hilarious, chaotic and violent. Sound familiar? To be fair, Rasputin is a performative con artist, but he drips with irresistible charm and faux sincerity. Of course, women love him, or is it lust for him, and unlike the perpetually lying chump in the White House, he admits he's sinned and asks God to forgive him. Clarence Thoms Jr, not to be confused with THAT Clarence Thomas, is the most level-headed character in this three-ring circus, a reporter for a tiny Dallas newspaper that Rasputin loves and calls his "Fake News" buddy. Rasputin cures him too, of a serious head injury. Faith is a presidential aide that crushes on Rasputin like every other woman. She deserves far better than being exploited by the political den of jackals she works for. Did I mention that Fountain wisely redacts all mention of Trump and Melania by name. No sense in getting sued for embellishing the truth just a little. I had a blast reading this, but the open-ended conclusion calls for a sequel Mr. Fountain.
Fountain pulls no punches in this uncompromising take down of our pitiful reality. It's by turns hilarious, chaotic and violent. Sound familiar? To be fair, Rasputin is a performative con artist, but he drips with irresistible charm and faux sincerity. Of course, women love him, or is it lust for him, and unlike the perpetually lying chump in the White House, he admits he's sinned and asks God to forgive him. Clarence Thoms Jr, not to be confused with THAT Clarence Thomas, is the most level-headed character in this three-ring circus, a reporter for a tiny Dallas newspaper that Rasputin loves and calls his "Fake News" buddy. Rasputin cures him too, of a serious head injury. Faith is a presidential aide that crushes on Rasputin like every other woman. She deserves far better than being exploited by the political den of jackals she works for. Did I mention that Fountain wisely redacts all mention of Trump and Melania by name. No sense in getting sued for embellishing the truth just a little. I had a blast reading this, but the open-ended conclusion calls for a sequel Mr. Fountain.
June 28, 2026
This was an absurdly hilarious book shedding light on the current political situation in the United States and by proxy affecting the entire world. I won't pretend that I fully understand everything the writing tries to convey, yet it managed to be so very entertaining. The story feels weirdly like dystopia of events that should absolutely never happen, but is somehow our reality.
A fictional character like Faith really changed up so much in my perception of how truly brutal working a political career can be and dancing to the whim of ridiculous men. Clarence as the reporter was a little unclear in my perception, but the way Rasputin was introduced into this futuristic timeline is eerie considering the possibility that voting Americans could indeed fold to a candidate marketed as such. The religious aspects also served to highlight the public's sometimes unreasonable trust in God and people who preach about him.
Pacing wise, I'd say this book is far too long. The premise isn't bad, but not nearly interesting enough to keep the audience captivated through 400+ pages or 13 hours worth of content. I could feel the writing really lose steam at 70% and from there things just became foggy. The ending didn't make sense to me either.
If you do pick this book up, I highly recommend the audiobook. The narration enhances this experience by a hundred fold. Ron Butler is a fantastic narrator, and his impression of President BLEEP is just too good. Makes listening feel even more visceral. But maybe it's a listen best for the near future when this era of tragic American politics is behind us.
Many thanks to Ben Fountain, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the complimentary ALC. All opinions are authentic and left voluntarily.
A fictional character like Faith really changed up so much in my perception of how truly brutal working a political career can be and dancing to the whim of ridiculous men. Clarence as the reporter was a little unclear in my perception, but the way Rasputin was introduced into this futuristic timeline is eerie considering the possibility that voting Americans could indeed fold to a candidate marketed as such. The religious aspects also served to highlight the public's sometimes unreasonable trust in God and people who preach about him.
Pacing wise, I'd say this book is far too long. The premise isn't bad, but not nearly interesting enough to keep the audience captivated through 400+ pages or 13 hours worth of content. I could feel the writing really lose steam at 70% and from there things just became foggy. The ending didn't make sense to me either.
If you do pick this book up, I highly recommend the audiobook. The narration enhances this experience by a hundred fold. Ron Butler is a fantastic narrator, and his impression of President BLEEP is just too good. Makes listening feel even more visceral. But maybe it's a listen best for the near future when this era of tragic American politics is behind us.
Many thanks to Ben Fountain, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the complimentary ALC. All opinions are authentic and left voluntarily.
July 5, 2026
Ben Fountain’s Rasputin Swims the Potomac is smart, wildly ambitious, and often beautifully written. He has a real talent for capturing the absurdity of American politics—the ego, the chaos, the theater of all of it. There were moments when I admired the book tremendously. But for me, the satire was so constant and so amplified that it sometimes overwhelmed the story itself.
Fountain is clearly trying to show us a political world that has become almost too ridiculous to parody, and in many ways, he succeeds. Still, the novel often feels as though every character, plot point, and scene is working very hard to make sure we understand just how absurd everything is. After I figured that out, I found myself wishing for a little more subtlety and more room for the characters to feel like actual people rather than representatives of an idea. I kept picturing comic book caricatures.
Clarence Thomas Jr., the skeptical reporter following the White House campaign, is a good example. He has some of the sharpest observations in the book, but the symbolism surrounding him—starting with that distracting name—felt so heavy-handed that it kept me at a distance. Instead of settling into him as a character, I kept feeling the author’s hand on my shoulder, reminding me what he wanted me to notice.
I'm sure I'm in the minority in DNF. There is plenty here for readers who enjoy dense, imaginative, slightly surreal political fiction. Fountain’s prose can be brilliant, and his anger at the state of things is understandable. But I wanted the book to trust the reader a little more. By the time I quit, I was less impressed by the cleverness of the satire than worn out by its intensity.
This is a book I respected more than I enjoyed.
Fountain is clearly trying to show us a political world that has become almost too ridiculous to parody, and in many ways, he succeeds. Still, the novel often feels as though every character, plot point, and scene is working very hard to make sure we understand just how absurd everything is. After I figured that out, I found myself wishing for a little more subtlety and more room for the characters to feel like actual people rather than representatives of an idea. I kept picturing comic book caricatures.
Clarence Thomas Jr., the skeptical reporter following the White House campaign, is a good example. He has some of the sharpest observations in the book, but the symbolism surrounding him—starting with that distracting name—felt so heavy-handed that it kept me at a distance. Instead of settling into him as a character, I kept feeling the author’s hand on my shoulder, reminding me what he wanted me to notice.
I'm sure I'm in the minority in DNF. There is plenty here for readers who enjoy dense, imaginative, slightly surreal political fiction. Fountain’s prose can be brilliant, and his anger at the state of things is understandable. But I wanted the book to trust the reader a little more. By the time I quit, I was less impressed by the cleverness of the satire than worn out by its intensity.
This is a book I respected more than I enjoyed.
June 10, 2026
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗦
In the not so distant future (2028), a sitting president decides to f*ck the constitution and run for a third term.
Faith, a member of his staff and former reality TV star herself, works on the campaign, enjoying unprecedented access to our not at all disguised current President.
When an outbreak of “the weeps” sweeps the nation - a sickness that causes people to lose their sh*t in sobbing fits - things get dicey.
Enter pro wrestler Rasputin, who, by laying his hands upon the weepers, can cure them. He’s charismatic and beloved and maybe running for president himself?
Clarence Thomas (not THAT one) is a reporter on the job, following the campaign closely. A Black man with no misgivings about the current state of affairs, he’s given access to Rasputin others dream of, and he watches everything unfold from a front row seat.
𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦
Well this is the political satire I came here for. Absolutely delivered. It’s wildly sharp, disturbingly prescient, wonderfully fresh.
I think what I liked most was the balance between sharp commentary and absolute hilarity. The exploration of current politics - with a nod toward professional wrestling’s “is it real or is it fake” line in the sand - with a focus on fame, power, and narcissism might hit too close to home for some but I ate it up.
[redacted]’s monologues might be too on the nose for some, but the First Lady subplot fed me.
𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗞
Satire along the lines of Lamb or Veep.
𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗
Only if you can handle it. But if you can, you MUST.
As someone who considers herself a thinker, I was surprised but how much this book made me think.
In the not so distant future (2028), a sitting president decides to f*ck the constitution and run for a third term.
Faith, a member of his staff and former reality TV star herself, works on the campaign, enjoying unprecedented access to our not at all disguised current President.
When an outbreak of “the weeps” sweeps the nation - a sickness that causes people to lose their sh*t in sobbing fits - things get dicey.
Enter pro wrestler Rasputin, who, by laying his hands upon the weepers, can cure them. He’s charismatic and beloved and maybe running for president himself?
Clarence Thomas (not THAT one) is a reporter on the job, following the campaign closely. A Black man with no misgivings about the current state of affairs, he’s given access to Rasputin others dream of, and he watches everything unfold from a front row seat.
𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦
Well this is the political satire I came here for. Absolutely delivered. It’s wildly sharp, disturbingly prescient, wonderfully fresh.
I think what I liked most was the balance between sharp commentary and absolute hilarity. The exploration of current politics - with a nod toward professional wrestling’s “is it real or is it fake” line in the sand - with a focus on fame, power, and narcissism might hit too close to home for some but I ate it up.
[redacted]’s monologues might be too on the nose for some, but the First Lady subplot fed me.
𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗞
Satire along the lines of Lamb or Veep.
𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗
Only if you can handle it. But if you can, you MUST.
As someone who considers herself a thinker, I was surprised but how much this book made me think.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Sometimes you just feel like a book is written for you. I'm happy to report, 'Rasputin Swims the Potomac' is one of those books for this reviewer. Professional wrestling meets political satire that feels way, way too real at some points, but often leaves you laughing.
Professional Wrestling champion Rasputin is invited by the President (the orange one, sort of, maybe, definitely is you know who) to the White House to help him secure a questionable third term the supreme court has cleared the way for. See, this feels all too real and scary. This, after Rasputin shows an ability during a wrestling television show to 'cure' the newly emerging 'Weeping Sickness' that's hitting the country.
Throughout the book the characters of Clarence Thomas Jr (no relation) and Faith Spacks share as being the focal point while giving the reader a view into the insane (and as I already mentioned, way too real) political landscape of the United States. All of the characters, including the president, first lady and Rasputin all felt real. It's hard to explain, but this book felt like an odd non-fiction account of what could happen. It's that real. Kudos to Ben Fountain for using the bizarre world we live in to spin off this story.
The only downside for me was the ending left a bit to be desired but I'm hoping a sequel is in the works...
If you hate MAGA and could use a dark laugh during these tough times, this book is for you.
Thank you to Netgalley, Flatiron Books and Ben Fountain for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Professional Wrestling champion Rasputin is invited by the President (the orange one, sort of, maybe, definitely is you know who) to the White House to help him secure a questionable third term the supreme court has cleared the way for. See, this feels all too real and scary. This, after Rasputin shows an ability during a wrestling television show to 'cure' the newly emerging 'Weeping Sickness' that's hitting the country.
Throughout the book the characters of Clarence Thomas Jr (no relation) and Faith Spacks share as being the focal point while giving the reader a view into the insane (and as I already mentioned, way too real) political landscape of the United States. All of the characters, including the president, first lady and Rasputin all felt real. It's hard to explain, but this book felt like an odd non-fiction account of what could happen. It's that real. Kudos to Ben Fountain for using the bizarre world we live in to spin off this story.
The only downside for me was the ending left a bit to be desired but I'm hoping a sequel is in the works...
If you hate MAGA and could use a dark laugh during these tough times, this book is for you.
Thank you to Netgalley, Flatiron Books and Ben Fountain for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
How do you satirize these here times we live in? Everything is already farcical so what can fiction do? I guess the answer is to center the story on a few fictional characters rather than the already absurd pols we're stuck with. What you get is our current president running for a now-legal third term, inviting a professional wrestler (inhabiting the persona of Rasputin) to be his running mate, observed by a journalist named Clarence Thomas Jr and a staffer who might be playing both sides. Rasputin, whose charisma can cure the weeping sickness afflicting MAGA America, becomes a movement sweeping into what is supposed to be President Bleep's victory tour after the Supreme Court grants a shot at a third term....and then is inevitably derailed (or is he) into a sex scandal because what's politics without one of those.
Honestly, 90% of it doesn't even read as satire, it's too plausible from where we're sitting now. Things that I think are supposed to register as bizarre, in the way that professional wrestling is bizarre, could be another headline in the news. I guess the ending, featuring the titular swim, is more unusual than most things so the ending left me with a little WTF but mostly this book is good for a chuckle and a wink that we, the audience, are at least all interpreting events similarly.
I liked the audio reasonably well, although the narrator's Bleep impression wasn't consistent enough; occasionally it was unsettlingly spot on, but mostly it blended in or become generic NY-ish.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!
Honestly, 90% of it doesn't even read as satire, it's too plausible from where we're sitting now. Things that I think are supposed to register as bizarre, in the way that professional wrestling is bizarre, could be another headline in the news. I guess the ending, featuring the titular swim, is more unusual than most things so the ending left me with a little WTF but mostly this book is good for a chuckle and a wink that we, the audience, are at least all interpreting events similarly.
I liked the audio reasonably well, although the narrator's Bleep impression wasn't consistent enough; occasionally it was unsettlingly spot on, but mostly it blended in or become generic NY-ish.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!
July 4, 2026
Ben Fountain has never lacked ambition and Rasputin Swims the Potomac certainly doesn’t. Set in a near-future America where a mysterious weeping sickness sweeps the country and a mystical wrestler becomes entangled in presidential politics, it’s part political satire, part fever dream and part morality tale.
For me, though, the satire was simply too over the top. I much prefer the Yes, Prime Minister school of satire, where the humour comes from understatement and the quiet absurdity of people taking ridiculous situations completely seriously. Here everything is dialled up to eleven, and after a while I found it exhausting rather than amusing.
That said, there were moments that genuinely made me laugh. The irony of the incumbent president staging an Ultimate Fighting Championship on what was the White House lawn was delicious. And someone should probably ask Ben Fountain to pick out a few lottery numbers. When he wrote this, some of his wildest ideas felt gloriously far-fetched, yet reality has already caught up with more than a few of them. (Bookreporter)
One detail did make me smile for the wrong reason. Fountain describes the Rose Garden resplendent through the Palladian windows. Sadly, no. The great gilder has already torn it up.
There is plenty of intelligence here, and the novel is often very funny, but its relentless excess never quite worked for me. Your mileage may vary depending on how broad you like your political satire, but I finished this wishing for a little more subtlety. But it’s probably impossible to subtly satirize 47.
For me, though, the satire was simply too over the top. I much prefer the Yes, Prime Minister school of satire, where the humour comes from understatement and the quiet absurdity of people taking ridiculous situations completely seriously. Here everything is dialled up to eleven, and after a while I found it exhausting rather than amusing.
That said, there were moments that genuinely made me laugh. The irony of the incumbent president staging an Ultimate Fighting Championship on what was the White House lawn was delicious. And someone should probably ask Ben Fountain to pick out a few lottery numbers. When he wrote this, some of his wildest ideas felt gloriously far-fetched, yet reality has already caught up with more than a few of them. (Bookreporter)
One detail did make me smile for the wrong reason. Fountain describes the Rose Garden resplendent through the Palladian windows. Sadly, no. The great gilder has already torn it up.
There is plenty of intelligence here, and the novel is often very funny, but its relentless excess never quite worked for me. Your mileage may vary depending on how broad you like your political satire, but I finished this wishing for a little more subtlety. But it’s probably impossible to subtly satirize 47.
July 6, 2026
(thank you to the publisher for my copy of this book!)
3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4
Rasputin Swims the Potomac is a near-future political satire about a president campaigning for a third term and filming a presidential reality show, a “weeping sickness” pandemic that’s sweeping the country, and a mystical pro wrestler brought in to help ramp up the campaign. The president’s name is redacted throughout the entire book, but we obviously all know who it is. And the pro wrestler angle just reminded me so much of what’s actually happening in the U.S. (I read this right before the UFC fights at the White House) and the serious degradation of the office.
This book is genuinely funny in places, as well as being sharp and very absurd. I had a lot of fun reading it. The humor mostly works, BUT I had some issues with the fact that it felt less like fiction and more like a slight rearrangement of headlines I’ve already read or expect to read soon. It’s almost like it’s funny, but not really funny because these things actually feel likely to happen 😩 Does that make sense?
That said, I think Ben Fountain is a brilliant writer and I can’t wait to read more from him! Check out Rasputin Swims the Potomac if you love political satire that feels very, very relevant…. For better or worse!
3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4
Rasputin Swims the Potomac is a near-future political satire about a president campaigning for a third term and filming a presidential reality show, a “weeping sickness” pandemic that’s sweeping the country, and a mystical pro wrestler brought in to help ramp up the campaign. The president’s name is redacted throughout the entire book, but we obviously all know who it is. And the pro wrestler angle just reminded me so much of what’s actually happening in the U.S. (I read this right before the UFC fights at the White House) and the serious degradation of the office.
This book is genuinely funny in places, as well as being sharp and very absurd. I had a lot of fun reading it. The humor mostly works, BUT I had some issues with the fact that it felt less like fiction and more like a slight rearrangement of headlines I’ve already read or expect to read soon. It’s almost like it’s funny, but not really funny because these things actually feel likely to happen 😩 Does that make sense?
That said, I think Ben Fountain is a brilliant writer and I can’t wait to read more from him! Check out Rasputin Swims the Potomac if you love political satire that feels very, very relevant…. For better or worse!
July 27, 2026
4.5 stars
Fountain, who began his professional life as a lawyer before turning to writing, produced the sterling novel Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and the, in my opinion, criminally underappreciated Haiti-set Devil Makes Three. Here, he takes a hard turn to political satire, bitingly funny and so right-on I could hardly believe it. It’s set in Texas but concerns American presidential politics, in which (the most Trumpian) President Bleep turns his eye to the mysterious and mystical pro wrestler Rasputin for help on the campaign trail and as potential vice-presidential material. You see, Trump (er, I mean Bleep) has engineered a groundswell movement to do away with constitutional limits on presidential terms and is going for a third term. Then some kind of very contagious virus causes outbreaks of “weeping sickness,” which Rasputin seems able to cure by the laying on of hands. (Not to mention that he fully believes he is the reincarnation of the historical figure Rasputin.) I could go on, but you need to read this to appreciate and enjoy the intelligent skewering of the current state not only of American politics but of many aspects of American life. Very smart, very funny,
Fountain, who began his professional life as a lawyer before turning to writing, produced the sterling novel Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and the, in my opinion, criminally underappreciated Haiti-set Devil Makes Three. Here, he takes a hard turn to political satire, bitingly funny and so right-on I could hardly believe it. It’s set in Texas but concerns American presidential politics, in which (the most Trumpian) President Bleep turns his eye to the mysterious and mystical pro wrestler Rasputin for help on the campaign trail and as potential vice-presidential material. You see, Trump (er, I mean Bleep) has engineered a groundswell movement to do away with constitutional limits on presidential terms and is going for a third term. Then some kind of very contagious virus causes outbreaks of “weeping sickness,” which Rasputin seems able to cure by the laying on of hands. (Not to mention that he fully believes he is the reincarnation of the historical figure Rasputin.) I could go on, but you need to read this to appreciate and enjoy the intelligent skewering of the current state not only of American politics but of many aspects of American life. Very smart, very funny,
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