This book explores a series of watershed moments in American politics through the lens of twenty-first-century fiction. Its contexts range from the Watergate scandal to the January 6 storming of the Capitol, from John F. Kennedy to Donald Trump. It considers authors such as Colson Whitehead, Ben Lerner, A. M. Homes, Dana Spiotta, Jack Livings, and Nathan Hill, with each chapter providing detailed close readings of new novels interwoven with the political contexts they evoke.