Nothing shatters the mystique of the floating city like seeing a McDonald's in Venice. But such deflating sights have been the norm for years. American colonization of the world's economy is complete. This summer in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, we listened to music under a sun-blocking billboard for Netflix's "Glow."
That disorienting moment came back to me Wednesday morning when I read the list of finalists for the Man Booker Prize. For the first time, half of the six nominees for Britain's most prestigious literary award are Americans:
"4321," by Paul Auster (U.S.)
"History of Wolves," by Emily Fridlund (U.S.)
"Lincoln in the Bardo," by George Saunders (U.S.)
"Exit West," by Mohsin Hamid (U.K.-Pakistan)
"Elmet" by Fiona Mozley (U.K.)
"Autumn," by Ali Smith (U.K.)