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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
DeLillo anduvo para que James Ellroy pudiera correr.
What a journey! While it does seem tediously involute at times in the middle, it all comes together in the end and the conspicuous bypasses into character history will reveal the hidden purpose of setting the American Experience so as to assist the explosion in the end.
"Everything is supposed to be something. But it never is. That's the nature of existence." (65)Don DeLillo: American novelist, or poet specializing in novel-length free verse?
3.5 stars. I felt too far removed from the Kennedy assassination to grow super invested in the plot, but holy cow can this DeLillo guy write. Character building, world building, inner world building, an ear for dialogue, an eye for detail... I'm fawning now, and really the only reason I can't seem to go a full five stars is because I read Underworld first.
Intense, exciting read... the momentum of which is gradually lost, or loses itself towards the end, as paths tangle together and characters show up in the same places, on the same days. The character of Lee Harvey Oswald is exceptional from birth to grave... a desperation to handle his own beliefs manifests throughout, as he is repeatedly lured back to the commercialism he loathes. The passages detailing Jack Ruby's daily routines are hilarious and punchy, he did this, he did that, although oddly he never seems in control of his own destiny. But the puppet strings manipulated by Everett, Banister, Mackey have as much bearing on the outcome of the plot as the evolving consciousnesses of Oswald and Ruby.
Typical DeLillo, happily, although with less inconsequential observation and dialogue, and an atypically solid narrative planned and woven expert.
Typical DeLillo, happily, although with less inconsequential observation and dialogue, and an atypically solid narrative planned and woven expert.
More so a 3.5
There were times I had to reread passages just to figure out what point of view Delillo is writing in, or who is actually speaking as it gets very jumbled at times (don't get me started when Jack Ruby and Jack Karlinsky are going back and forth)
"'Libra. A Libran.'
'The Scales'
'The Balance'
It seemed to tell them everything they had to know. . .
'We have the positive Libran who has achieved self-mastery. He is well balanced, levelheaded, a sensible fellow respected by all. We have the negative Libran who is, let's say, somewhat unsteady and impulsive. Easily, easily, easily influenced. Poised to make the dangerous leap. Either way, balance is the key.'" (315)
There were times I had to reread passages just to figure out what point of view Delillo is writing in, or who is actually speaking as it gets very jumbled at times (don't get me started when Jack Ruby and Jack Karlinsky are going back and forth)
"'Libra. A Libran.'
'The Scales'
'The Balance'
It seemed to tell them everything they had to know. . .
'We have the positive Libran who has achieved self-mastery. He is well balanced, levelheaded, a sensible fellow respected by all. We have the negative Libran who is, let's say, somewhat unsteady and impulsive. Easily, easily, easily influenced. Poised to make the dangerous leap. Either way, balance is the key.'" (315)
Is it nit-picky for me to complain that the Jack Ruby portion of the story didn't gel? The Lee Oswald story was so well-developed, I expected everything else to fit together like a puzzle too - and then Ruby just ends up being some guy who's mad.
A speculative history of the JFK assassination, told primarily from Lee Harvey Oswald’s perspective. In DeLillo’s hands, Lee, his mother, and his fellow conspiracist David Ferrie are indelible characters. Most everyone else needlessly crowds the narrative—which, I suppose, is a common condition in sprawling domestic terror plots like this one.
A long, very uneven, flourishing of the Lee Harvey Oswald assassination cover-up. Well written if unintentionally overwrought with exposition. Similar to this review.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes