From the critically acclaimed author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk comes a novel that is stranger than real life, but only just; a triumphant and terrifyingly relevant satire of modern-day American politics

It's time for a new season of The Real West Wing, and viewers are looking forward to watching the President run for his third term, recently cleared by the Supreme Court. There may or may not be a new weeping sickness sweeping the nation, and an unlikely hero is recruited to join the President's campaign - mystical pro-wrestler Rasputin. (That Rasputin? Maybe .)

An intriguing and diverse cast of characters spanning the political spectrum including a reporter with the same name as a Supreme Court judge, a former country music teen star and a wayward First Lady find themselves spinning into spandex-clad destiny no number of executive orders can control.

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.

"Fiction is truer than real life in Rasputin Swims the Potomac, an audacious, rip-roaring, and terrifying good time. Don't read ABOUT this book - it will sound too crazy! Dive in and see for yourself . . . Ben Fountain is a prophet, comic genius and a master storyteller." -- MARIA SEMPLE, author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Go Gentle

"Fountain turns this scathing satire to the most relevant story of our time: the twists and turns of American democracy as it hurtles toward authoritarianism" ― LitHub

"Fountain goes on to have about as much fun as you can have with the 26 letters of the alphabet . . . A comic masterpiece. The current administration is finally getting the book it deserves" ― Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Details

ISBN13: 9781837267460
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 416
Edition: Main
Publication Date: 07 Jul 2026
Publisher: Canongate Books
Publication City, Country: Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 21.4(H)x13.5(L)x3(W)422
Weight (gm): 422

Author Biography

Ben Fountain is the author of the novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, which won the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction and the 2012 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, and was shortlisted for the 2012 National Book Award. In addition, he has received the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Barnes & Noble Discover Award for Fiction, an O. Henry Award and two Pushcart Prizes. He was also shortlisted for the International Author of the Year Award in 2012. His acclaimed short-story collection Brief Encounters with Che Guevara was published in 2013. His fiction has been published in Harper's, The Paris Review, Zoetrope: All-Story and Stories from the South: The Year's Best, and his nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times among other publications. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

benfountain.com

Reviews

Fiction is truer than real life in Rasputin Swims the Potomac, an audacious, rip-roaring, and terrifying good time. Don't read ABOUT this book - it will sound too crazy! Dive in and see for yourself . . . Ben Fountain is a prophet, comic genius and a master storyteller. -- MARIA SEMPLE, author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Go Gentle
Fountain turns this scathing satire to the most relevant story of our time: the twists and turns of American democracy as it hurtles toward authoritarianism * * LitHub * *
Fountain goes on to have about as much fun as you can have with the 26 letters of the alphabet . . . A comic masterpiece. The current administration is finally getting the book it deserves * * Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review * *
If you, like me, remember busting a gut and cringing in horror (sometimes within the span of the same sentence) while reading Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Fountain's astute satire of George W. Bush-era jingoism, then you'll know how ready I am for his latest, in which a truth-averse U.S. president seeks a third term with the help of a mystical pro wrestler named Rasputin. If anyone can capture the stupefying stupidity of today's politics, Fountain can -- DAVID ADAMS, Reviews Director * * Publisher's Weekly Summer Picks * *
Timely and terrifying, Fountain's version of the current and potentially future state of American politics and culture is simultaneously wild and absurd yet eerily plausible -- CAROL HAGGAS * * Booklist * *
A brilliant satire from Fountain. . . . More than a laugh riot, this offers an unflinching view at the bottomless depths opened by a president "whose ego has wormholes Freud never dreamt of." It's a mordant and chilling portrait of a national hellscape * * Publisher's Weekly * *