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A review by breanneraem
Libra by Don DeLillo
4.0
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.