American Nomad

What was Rolling Stone thinking when it hired (then fired) novelist Steve Erickson to cover the 1996 presidential campaign? He's no reporter: When he thinks he sees a conservative candidate enter a New Orleans strip joint during the Republican primaries, Erickson doesn't snoop for fear of losing a potential interview. And as political commentary, his vision of America in American Nomad is too humorlessly Blade Runner-ish to make much sense. Rendered jobless, Erickson hits the road to further wield grandiose generalizations about ''America,'' then wraps up this bizarre tale by claiming to go crazy. C-