For an author who has specialised in giving us such graphic pictures of the "other" America, from its underbelly to its dark margins, has Barack Obama's bright new administration led to a change in his inner landscape, I ask, or even the outer landscape – the America he sees around him? "The world of American politics is more contentious than it has ever been in my lifetime," he says, in an explanation that sounds as much a description of his characters as the national psyche. "Obama's campaign was built on vilifying Bush republicans. Anything that starts out with hatred, contempt and vilification... I think America is just so in love with conflict. People could disengage from it in an instant, but we have an addiction to high levels of engagement with it that always keeps us in battles. It's a game we play."