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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
First DeLillo book. Excellent read. Pushes all the right buttons in his conspiracy theory of how it all went down. Not a dull moment and a great look at Oswald and his strange world. Solid 4 stars. Enjoyed it!
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An outstanding novel with one of the most beautifully effective structures I've ever come across.
There's not much to say about the novel that other people have not already. But I will say this:
the prose of Libra is flatter than prose of other DeLillo novels--say, like The Names or White Noise. And what the flatter prose does is it gives more room for the characters to breathe. The prose is still hard-hitting and precise, though, don't think it isn't.
So often DeLillo's characters are driven by anxiety, but this book walks away from that a bit. The themes here range from secrets to transparency, and how they affect one's identity; from loneliness to solitude; from power to paranoia; relationship between mother and son; and finally, failure: more than anything, this novel is about failure.
Libra is the book that deals a lot with paranoia, more so than other DeLillo novels. It also deals the Pynchon-esque theme where people try to learn the orders and patterns of figures who are beyond their reach.
And contrary to popular belief, DeLillo didn't set out to make you sympathize and ultimately forgive Lee Harvey Oswald, he just made a great character of him; you won't walk away loving Lee Harvey Oswald, with your moral compass all messed up, don't worry.
This is a gem; read it.
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Having just finished 11/22/63, it seemed like the perfect time to pick up Libra, my first DeLillo. Back-to-back JFK assassination stories, why not?
I am a little bit in awe of how good this book is. What could have easily been a canned thriller, gross with conspiracy theories, perhaps ala The Da Vinci Code, is instead smart and layered and successful on multiple levels. First, it’s a political thriller, detailing the life of Lee Harvey Oswald and the political and criminal background noise of 1963 that Oswald can be loosely connected to. We begin these two tracks at different points in time and begin moving forward until they align and we are buzzing, alive inside the fervor of that slow motorcade through the crowds, the Book Depository building looming. I could not wait to see how this ended, which is pretty remarkable since I already knew.
Second, it’s a hypothesis on why nobody has really gotten over this event. I can't even imagine what it must have been like in November 1963 to watch the president be killed. I can't imagine the fear, shock, and betrayal that punched the nation. But it's easy to understand wanting, needing, to have the hows and whys answered. That many feel those answers have never been fully, satisfactorily revealed is why this assassination has continued to be so studied. “You can't surrender your rage and shame to these endless complications." It's not that people are in denial, it's that the simple answer, Lee Harvey Oswald, makes sense only until you learn about all of the coincidences, connections, and missing pieces. Here DeLillo has written a story that speculates how some of those complications might make sense. Within this political thriller framework it is not about reaching the truth about what happened but about examining why we continue to seek that truth.
Lastly, it is about stories, especially histories. Do we make history or does history make us? I’m sure there’s lots more to glean from this but those were the main points I connected with. I will be reading more from this guy.
I am a little bit in awe of how good this book is. What could have easily been a canned thriller, gross with conspiracy theories, perhaps ala The Da Vinci Code, is instead smart and layered and successful on multiple levels. First, it’s a political thriller, detailing the life of Lee Harvey Oswald and the political and criminal background noise of 1963 that Oswald can be loosely connected to. We begin these two tracks at different points in time and begin moving forward until they align and we are buzzing, alive inside the fervor of that slow motorcade through the crowds, the Book Depository building looming. I could not wait to see how this ended, which is pretty remarkable since I already knew.
Second, it’s a hypothesis on why nobody has really gotten over this event. I can't even imagine what it must have been like in November 1963 to watch the president be killed. I can't imagine the fear, shock, and betrayal that punched the nation. But it's easy to understand wanting, needing, to have the hows and whys answered. That many feel those answers have never been fully, satisfactorily revealed is why this assassination has continued to be so studied. “You can't surrender your rage and shame to these endless complications." It's not that people are in denial, it's that the simple answer, Lee Harvey Oswald, makes sense only until you learn about all of the coincidences, connections, and missing pieces. Here DeLillo has written a story that speculates how some of those complications might make sense. Within this political thriller framework it is not about reaching the truth about what happened but about examining why we continue to seek that truth.
Lastly, it is about stories, especially histories. Do we make history or does history make us? I’m sure there’s lots more to glean from this but those were the main points I connected with. I will be reading more from this guy.
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oswalds character arc is fascinating, it gets progressively sadder. when it contextualizes his mother’s speech about how Oswald has been picked out since birth by the government it felt just gut-wrenching.
I found the contrast of Oswalds left leaning agent of history persona to Jack Ruby’s I-am-so-mad-I-cant-stop-puking and-I-love-the-police right wing guy to be kinda funny.
I found the contrast of Oswalds left leaning agent of history persona to Jack Ruby’s I-am-so-mad-I-cant-stop-puking and-I-love-the-police right wing guy to be kinda funny.
Oddly timed reading in relation to both the election and the death of Castro, but honestly I care more that I finally delved into DeLillo and was blown away. The depth of characterization, despite how much the author intentionally leaves Oswald a cipher, is so casual, so effortless. Background figures and stray observations are so thoroughly realized but never distracting or needlessly showy. Above all I'm impressed by the balancing act that DeLillo achieves, of managing to square the all-but-certain truth of Oswald's lone gunman act and the temptation—the need, even—to tie such an unremarkable man to a larger conspiracy worthy of his crime. Oswald may indeed be a patsy here, but he does not even have the dignity of knowing it, instead manipulated by G-men and KGB alike. At least the Soviets have the decency to look him in the face while they do it.
I admire DeLillo's portrait of the Oswalds, which eschews the white-trash image favored by many in fiction and life and presents intelligent but provincial beings who never had much of a chance. I'm especially taken with the finale, which belongs not to a sobered Lee nor a panicked Jack Ruby but Lee's mom, whose testimony is at once self-apologia, willful delusion, and a bitter recrimination of every factor great and small that corrupted her son.
I admire DeLillo's portrait of the Oswalds, which eschews the white-trash image favored by many in fiction and life and presents intelligent but provincial beings who never had much of a chance. I'm especially taken with the finale, which belongs not to a sobered Lee nor a panicked Jack Ruby but Lee's mom, whose testimony is at once self-apologia, willful delusion, and a bitter recrimination of every factor great and small that corrupted her son.