The Fabulist

“[A] deeply reported account of the scandals that riddle the [former] New York representative’s life [which] also serves as a warning against possible future misconduct.” —The New York Times Book Review“A lively account of Santos and his fall from grace… . Among the high points of its reporting, The Fabulist paints a picture of someone who really doesn’t know what survival means… . When the cameras go cold, Santos may find himself alone with the person he had always wished to avoid.” —The New York Review of Books“An engrossing look at Santos’s rise and crashing fall. With detail and wry humor, Chiusano fillets his subject. The Fabulist is an amalgam of dish and supporting receipts, an ideal stocking stuffer for political junkies and voyeurs. This is a book Santos never wanted published. Truly.” —The Guardian“Chiusano’s book offers not just a contextualization of [Santos’s] deceptions but also a fuller, even compassionate story, a piecing together of a complex character… a comprehensive portrait of a grand fabricator and the society that created him.” —Newsday “Aside from delivering an avalanche of bizarre new scooplets and anecdotes about the life and times of George Santos, the book does something that few have been able to do: It humanizes him… [painting] a complex portrait of a real human being who seems to lie as a way of life.” —Business Insider“The deceits, frauds, and unlikely triumphs of the Republican congressman from New York are untangled in this labyrinthine exposé… . Combining punchy reportage with thoughtful analysis, Chiusano’s richly textured profile makes Santos into a fitting embodiment of today’s declining public faith in politics.” —Publishers Weekly “Dogged reporting… . As if channeling Herman Melville’s novel The Confidence-Man, Chiusano suggests that America is a nation of wolves and sheep, where the wolves always win… . In a well-researched book, Chiusano offers fair warning to anyone who might consider voting for his con man subject.” —Kirkus “Chiusano’s book called out, siren-like, from the new books section of my local public library, and I succumbed. What I learned is that my idea of Santos had been much too charitable. [I]n Chiusano’s account, almost all of Santos’s life is vaporware… Santos’s saga really does mark something new in the annals of America’s Congress.” —The Bulwark“A fabulous, sizzling, and sometimes sassy book, excelling both as real-time reportage and an incisive review of the time and places that made the rise and fall of George Santos possible.” —OurTown“An essential read for those seeking to understand the complex tapestry of truth and fabrication that defines the American political landscape in the age of George Santos… Chiusano’s work goes beyond the spectacle of Santos’s alleged misdeeds, and his insights into Santos’s psyche and the implications of his actions extend beyond mere political critique.” —The Advocate“Followers of politics and readers who’ve been watching the saga of George Santos will devour The Fabulist. If you love a good, romping head-shaker, pull this one off the shelves.” —Terri Schlichenmeyer, OutSFL

Mark Chiusano started covering George Santos in 2019 as a columnist and editorial writer at Newsday. His story collection Marine Park received a PEN/Hemingway Award honorable mention in 2015. His writing has appeared in places like The Atlantic, Time, The Paris Review, McSweeney’s, The Drift, and Guernica, and he teaches at CUNY City Tech. He lives in his native Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters.