The Ending Of American Fiction Explained

For the most part, Thelonious "Monk" Ellison isn't overly concerned about the success of his novels. He writes what he thinks has literary value, and if that doesn't connect with readers, well ... he considers that more of a "them" problem. But when his sister (Tracee Ellis Ross) dies suddenly and his ailing mother with dementia becomes his primary responsibility, he finds himself needing to publish a hit. His agent Arthur (John Ortiz), noting the recent success of a novel by a young Black author named Sintara Golden (Issa Rae) called "We's Lives in Da Ghetto," essentially suggests that Monk write a book that is "more Black." This confounds Monk, because he is, after all, already Black, so anything he writes is a Black book.

In a drunken fit of pettiness, Monk writes "My Pafology," a story with drugs, gangs, and violence, essentially to mock the tastes of popular audiences. "If they want a Black book," he thinks, "I'll give them a Black book." There's just one problem: The publishers eat it up, and offer him (or rather, his alter ego Stagg R. Leigh, since the book is meant to be autobiographical) a massive deal. Although he tries to sabotage "My Pafology" several times over the course of the film, he ends up getting in way over his head when prestigious literary awards groups, movie studios, and the press come calling.