Charlie Kaufman is familiar from his films, but it's time to acknowledge that the author of Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been constrained by budget and the limitations of the world of objects. In his debut novel about a failed film critic, he throws off these shackles: the narrative stretches back and forth millions of years, populated by fictional and real movie stars, robot clones of Trump, reflections on Sokurov and Nolan, BDSM practitioners, and scathing commentary on the #MeToo era. Antic is a majestic and caustic puzzle novel that can be deciphered according to the model of T. Pynchon or J. F. Wallace, or you can dive in headfirst and surrender to its psychedelic power.