Libra
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- Create Date：2022-12-23 05:51:30
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Don DeLillo
- ISBN：0140156046
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Summary
From the author of White Noise （winner of the National Book Award） and Zero K
In this powerful， eerily convincing fictional speculation on the assassination of John F。 Kennedy， Don DeLillo chronicles Lee Harvey Oswald's odyssey from troubled teenager to a man of precarious stability who imagines himself an agent of history。 When "history" presents itself in the form of two disgruntled CIA operatives who decide that an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the president will galvanize the nation against communism， the scales are irrevocably tipped。A gripping， masterful blend of fact and fiction， alive with meticulously portrayed characters both real and created， Libra is a grave， haunting， and brilliant examination of an event that has become an indelible part of the American psyche。
In this powerful， eerily convincing fictional speculation on the assassination of John F。 Kennedy， Don DeLillo chronicles Lee Harvey Oswald's odyssey from troubled teenager to a man of precarious stability who imagines himself an agent of history。 When "history" presents itself in the form of two disgruntled CIA operatives who decide that an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the president will galvanize the nation against communism， the scales are irrevocably tipped。A gripping， masterful blend of fact and fiction， alive with meticulously portrayed characters both real and created， Libra is a grave， haunting， and brilliant examination of an event that has become an indelible part of the American psyche。
Reviews
Colleen
，
highly recommend reading with a low-grade fever—what’s already a hazy and secretive plot becomes even more convoluted with the coincidence
Nick Lastename
，
Very good。 I loved the Lee sections （like in Atsugi， in Minsk， and a lot of the US stuff） I loved his wife and felt for her and I loved Lee’s mother。 Some of the conspirator chapters were a little hard to follow because I didn’t find those characters super differentiated。 The whole section from when Lee shoots the president on （shouldn’t be a spoiler lol） I thought was perfect。
Aidan Bryant
，
God level stuff
Oli Turner
，
#libra by #dondelillo published in 1988 detailing the plot to assassinate #jfk there are 3 interwoven timelines。 1。 Alternating chapters between #leeharveyoswald his youth， military career， time in Russia， relocation to the US， sympathy with Cuba， building to the events of 11/22/63 as well as his death at the hands of jack ruby。 2。 The other chapters all take place during 1963 and deal with the CIA’s plan， influence and cover up。 3。 The third timeline is just a few paragraphs here and there abou #libra by #dondelillo published in 1988 detailing the plot to assassinate #jfk there are 3 interwoven timelines。 1。 Alternating chapters between #leeharveyoswald his youth， military career， time in Russia， relocation to the US， sympathy with Cuba， building to the events of 11/22/63 as well as his death at the hands of jack ruby。 2。 The other chapters all take place during 1963 and deal with the CIA’s plan， influence and cover up。 3。 The third timeline is just a few paragraphs here and there about the investigation into the aftermath。 So the structure was interesting enough to keep me engaged。 I don’t have much sympathy for Oswald， but I do feel for his mother， wife and children。 Everything else seemed a little underwhelming。 I had high hopes for this after hearing it influenced #jamesellroy’s #americantabloid but sadly it didn’t quite live up to my expectations。 It is written well enough and I wasn’t bored but it didn’t knock my socks off。 。。。more
John
，
Libra kicks ass on several levels。 Firstly， it's perhaps my favourite interpretation of the events surrounding the assassination of JFK。 As far as conspiracies go， this one has fallen by the wayside a bit， overtaken by QAnon and the Jeffrey Epstein saga。 But every time I revisit it， I remember why it's essentially the ur-text of modern conspiracy theories。 It's jam-packed with interesting characters （like David Ferrie， Guy Bannister， George de Mohrenschildt）， coincidences （many of these people h Libra kicks ass on several levels。 Firstly， it's perhaps my favourite interpretation of the events surrounding the assassination of JFK。 As far as conspiracies go， this one has fallen by the wayside a bit， overtaken by QAnon and the Jeffrey Epstein saga。 But every time I revisit it， I remember why it's essentially the ur-text of modern conspiracy theories。 It's jam-packed with interesting characters （like David Ferrie， Guy Bannister， George de Mohrenschildt）， coincidences （many of these people had both CIA and Mob connections）， and funny little details （Oswald learning Russian while a marine， defecting to the USSR for several years， marrying the niece of a Soviet colonel， then returning to the US without formal debrief by the State Dept） that make you raise your eyebrows until they fall off the top of your head。 DeLillo somehow weaves these bizarre threads together into a theory that is more congruous and plausible than other ludicrous and outright baffling theories floating around （see: Oliver Stone's JFK）。Secondly， the novel itself is just a joy to read; lively， kinetic， and exhilarating。 It's intentionally disjointed， which may be a challenge at first， but ultimately serves to further a key theme of the novel: establishing truth amidst the barrage of randomness and curveballs life throws our way。 Paragraphs jump between characters without warning， zig-zagging through space and time。 Events are presented almost as non sequiturs， with minimal context， and information is inferred rather than plainly stated。 All of which is not unlike the unravelling of a conspiracy。 One character， Nicholas Branch， serves as stand-in for the reader。 He is a CIA archivist， piecing together the planning of the conspiracy， and attempting to understand the role of Lee Harvey Oswald amongst it all。 His sources include random newspaper clippings， receipts for ammunition， a grainy photo here， eyewitness testimony there， a forgotten memo， a sample of hair， hearsay。 His job and ours is to bear witness， to wrest meaning from it all， if indeed there is any meaning to be found。One last point I'd like to make is that the realisation of the character of Oswald is fantastic。 Whether any of this is true of the real man we can't say， but the Oswald of Libra is a harrowing portrait of nomadic loneliness and alienation produced by modern America。 He is a man without solid foundations， no concrete sense of self， and no sense of social obligation to others。 He has pretensions of being a great man of history， but finds himself vulnerable to being dragged along unwillingly by its current like detritus。 Or if that metaphor doesn't suit you， then he's kinda like a set of scales that can be tipped one way or the other。 In summary， Lee Harvey Oswald is such a Libra。 。。。more
Sandro Gaspar
，
A história do assassinato do Kennedy contada como se a biografia do Lee Harvey Oswald se tratasse。 A narrativa seria mais fluida se algumas personagens fossem omitidas， não acrescentam。 As descrições são vívidas e realistas， em particular o assassinato。
Andrew
，
I loved White Noise and Mao II from Delillo， wasn't as big a fan of this one。 It seems like if you're going to write a book about the most famous assassination in American history you should probably have something to say， and I couldn't get much meaning out of this book。 It seemed like just an interpretation of how things could have gone。I think too the postmodern style of Delillo doesn't give me what I wanted from this story。 The book felt too removed from the emotions of the characters partic I loved White Noise and Mao II from Delillo， wasn't as big a fan of this one。 It seems like if you're going to write a book about the most famous assassination in American history you should probably have something to say， and I couldn't get much meaning out of this book。 It seemed like just an interpretation of how things could have gone。I think too the postmodern style of Delillo doesn't give me what I wanted from this story。 The book felt too removed from the emotions of the characters participating in the conspiracy， I would have appreciated more of a sense of paranoia or urgency to what was happening。I'm being critical， but I did enjoy the book overall。 The ending in particular where Oswald's mother talks about how she experienced life with her son got some emotion out of me。 There were a few parts of the book that made me think "what could happen to a 24 year old to make them assassinate the president？" and unfortunately I don't feel like the book presented any compelling answers。 。。。more
Gregory Mellor
，
Only thing I struggled with is that the book kind of relies on you being keenly interested in the potential conspiracy on JFK。 It requires you to recognise the characters from elsewhere。 Or I'm dumb Only thing I struggled with is that the book kind of relies on you being keenly interested in the potential conspiracy on JFK。 It requires you to recognise the characters from elsewhere。 Or I'm dumb 。。。more
Bart
，
todo
Alex Abbott
，
Imagine being this good of a book but only being the 2nd best literary portrayal of the Kennedy conspiracy
Sonic
，
Though I was frustrated while reading/listening to the audiobook with reactions about what I think or believe I know about this event， and though I felt it was painfully dry， by the end I loved it。Though I still doubt some of the central assumptions about the assassination。
Jane
，
This book is not an easy read， unlike Stephen King's fictional take on the Kennedy assassination （11/22/63）， and it does not provide a straight-line narrative of the events leading up to the shooting。 The life of Lee Oswald （astrologically born a Libra and never known as "Lee Harvey Oswald" until after the assassination） is the focus of Libra， which is also about the people who shaped Oswald and the event that made him infamous。 The symbol for Libra is a set of scales， and this is the metaphor f This book is not an easy read， unlike Stephen King's fictional take on the Kennedy assassination （11/22/63）， and it does not provide a straight-line narrative of the events leading up to the shooting。 The life of Lee Oswald （astrologically born a Libra and never known as "Lee Harvey Oswald" until after the assassination） is the focus of Libra， which is also about the people who shaped Oswald and the event that made him infamous。 The symbol for Libra is a set of scales， and this is the metaphor for Oswald's life。Libra is a brilliant piece of writing， both in terms of its style and its examination of Oswald。 In the real world， from the moment Oswald was arrested for the assassination， he went from complete unknown to a two-dimensional villain--a loser-turned-communist-and-killer。 DeLillo's portrayal isn't designed to earn sympathy for Oswald; he gives him the three-dimensions that every human has。 With an event that has been meticulously examined for almost 60 years， DeLillo had plenty of material。 Some novelists might have felt the need to analyze the heck out of the material using a linear narrative structure。 DeLillo does the opposite， letting the material do the talking in a way that reflects the randomness of life and the overlap of events in time （when dealing with multiple characters all having separate and overlapping roles in the story， a linear structure is artificial and misleading）。 Although DeLillo added a ton of fiction into the mix， I never felt that he was directing me to understand something， to connect something， or to trick me into believing something。 He could've been doing that because he is that good a writer， but his writing style seems to let the story unfold naturally。 Most notably and unusually for me with a book of over 400 pages， I was never bored and never felt that any part of the book should have been "cut for length。" 。。。more
Kansas
，
"No se trata del propio Kennedy sino de lo que la gente ve en él。[。。。]¿Sabes qué significa para mí carisma？ Significa que él guarda secretos， los peligrosos secretos que solían guardarse al margen del gobierno。 Tramas， conspiraciones， secretos de la revolución， secretos sobre el fin del orden social。 Si le quitas los secretos， se convierte en un don nadie。"Esta es una novela sobre Secretos。 No cabe duda de que el asesinato de JFK fue el secreto mejor construido del siglo XX， un misterio que devi "No se trata del propio Kennedy sino de lo que la gente ve en él。[。。。]¿Sabes qué significa para mí carisma？ Significa que él guarda secretos， los peligrosos secretos que solían guardarse al margen del gobierno。 Tramas， conspiraciones， secretos de la revolución， secretos sobre el fin del orden social。 Si le quitas los secretos， se convierte en un don nadie。"Esta es una novela sobre Secretos。 No cabe duda de que el asesinato de JFK fue el secreto mejor construido del siglo XX， un misterio que devino en múltiples teorías conspiratorias。 No ha habido un enigma que haya generado más debate， un tema fascinante teniendo en cuenta los tiempos que corrían， un momento crucial histórico en Estados Unidos que de alguna forma rompió en pedazos un sistema perfectamente ensamblado de cara a la galería y que dio como resultado un país expuesto frente al resto del planeta。 John Fitzgerald Kennedy era el hombre más poderoso del planeta y de repente fue asesinado， fue el blanco de ¿quién？？ Lee Harvey Oswald fue el asesino oficial pero si fue así， entonces ¿por qué hoy se sigue debatiendo sobre este asesinato？ Es un tema tan complejo， que aún hoy en día sigue resultando un misterio sin resolver: Fidel Castro， la mafia de Chicago， la guerra fria， la CIA… elementos que estuvieron envueltos en una trama donde Oswald de alguna forma fue el comodín de quita y pon。"La verdad no es aquello que sabemos o sentimos， sino lo que aguarda más allá。"Y aquí entra Don Delillo en escena construyendo una novela fascinante en torno a este misterio centrándose sobre todo en el personaje de Lee Harvey Oswald， porque Don Delillo， como gran diseccionador de la sociedad， sabe que hay una página en blanco entre la historia oficial y las teorías conspiratorias que no paran de surgir desde 1963。 Delillo sabe que la verdad está en algún punto de esta página en blanco así que toma personajes reales e históricos y los mezcla con personajes surgidos de su imaginación y va reconstruyendo una historia encajando las piezas y apoyándose sobre todo en el personaje de Lee Harvey Oswald， como centro neurálgico donde van confluyendo todas lineas argumentales。 Desde el momento en que Delillo toma un hecho histórico y lo noveliza dotándolo de diálogos， anécdotas personales， reflexiones de sus personajes， consigue encontrar un punto de equilibro que la historia oficial nunca nos ha proporcionado。 Claro que los diálogos son resultado de su imaginación e incluso la psicología de sus personajes， pero el esqueleto estaba ya ahí， solo que Delillo de esta forma resalta que tras los hechos oficiales había personas reales con sus pequeños momentos domésticos， por ejemplo y con sus historias personales que los hicieron confluir hasta verse sumergidos en en uno de los momentos históricos más trepidantes de la historia americana。 Y tal como resalta en un momento de la novela， todos y cada uno de nosotros podríamos convertirnos en personajes de una trama。。。"Llevamos vidas más interesantes de lo que creemos。 Somos personajes de las tramas。 Atentamente analizadas en todas sus afinidades y vínculos， nuestras vidas abundan en significados sugerentes， en temas y giros enrevesados que no nos hemos permitido ver en su totalidad。"La estructura de Libra es reveladora en su forma porque Delillo la divide en dos hilos narrativos perfectamente delimitados a través de capítulos:- por una parte los episodios de la vida de Oswald desde su infancia hasta el momento del asesinato y su posterior muerte。 Desde el primer momento que conocemos a Oswald， ese niño inseguro， outsider， y con dificultades de aprendizaje， el lector es consciente aquí de que Delillo ha construido un personaje de carne y hueso， cálido， lleno de recovecos， con sus luces y sus sombras， de múltiples matices， una persona que con sus inseguridades y su aislamiento， va definiendo una narración dotando de humanidad un hecho histórico por demás frio y caotico。 A Delillo se le nota que está cerca de Oswald， sobre todo porque lo describe en varios momentos de su vida， aislado y queriendo llamar la atención a la vez， un personaje contradictorio donde los haya， pero la naturaleza humana es así， está llena de matices。 Delillo nos muestra a Oswald en las diferentes etapas de su vida que lo definieron， su infancia en el Bronx， en los marines en Japón， su solitaria etapa rusa y su deserción y su posterior vuelta a los Estados Unidos que es cuando llama la atención de los conspiradores。"Los ojos de Oswald son grises， azules， pardos， Conduce， no sabe conducir， Es tirador de primera y no le acierta a tres en un burro。 El aspecto de Oswald es tan cambiante que sus fotos parecen de hombres distintos。 Es robusto， frágil， de labios delgados， de fracciones fuertes， extrovertido， tímido y con aire de empleado de banca， con el cuello como una columna de zaguero。 Se parece a cualquiera。"[…]"Asistía al cine y a la biblioteca。 Nadie conocía las dificultades que tenía para leer frases sencillas， No siempre lograba tener una imagen clara de mundo ante sus ojos。 Escribir le resultaba más penoso。 Si estaba cansado， apenas conseguía interpretar cinco palabras correctamente， escribir una palabra sencilla sin confundir las letras。Se trataba de un secreto que jamás revelaría。"- y por otra parte， el otro hilo narrativo paralelo se concentra en las acciones que van definiendo a todos los participantes de la conspiración: agentes de la CIA totalmente fuera de control por la desilusión que les supuso el fracaso de Kennedy en la trama cubana de la invasión de la Bahia de Cochinos: estos podrían ser los primeros conspiradores。 Algunos de ellos fascinantes como Win Everett a quién se le ocurre inventar un intento de asesinato fallido a Kennedy para culpar a los cubanos。 Win Everett es el primero que idea esta trama， necesitan un chivo expiatorio a quien culpar y va diseñando un primer plan， que consistió precisamente en fallar el intento de asesinato pero tantos personajes implicados van haciendo cambiar este plan inicial y convirtiéndolo en algo mucho más complejo。 Y aquí es una vez más donde brilla Delillo， no solo como escritor sino como absoluto conocedor de la naturaleza humana y de la historia porque en la historia hay mucho de accidental y de hechos no intencionados， ya lo decía Tolstoy en Guerra y Paz。"Todos eran espectros， primos o crédulos， agentes dobles， correos engañados o desertores， o estaban relacionados con alguien que lo era。 Todos estábamos enlazados en una descomunal coincidencia rítmica， concatenación o rumor， sospecha o deseo íntimo。"En medio de estas dos lineas argumentales paralelas entre Oswald y los conspiradores， se construye otra， de transición， y que sigue a Nicholas Branch un archivista de la CIA a quien se le asigna la tarea de reconstruir la trama de este asesinato a Kennedy。 Branch podría ser el alter ego de Delillo en el sentido que intenta encontrar una verdad que está camuflada entre muchos personajes y datos， y por supuesto， escondida en una ingente cantidad de información， tal como bien define uno de los personajes de la trama: “Todo dato es inocente hasta que interesa a alguien， momento en que se convierte en información”。 Esta es la información que tiene que desentrañar Branch/Delillo， y es aquí donde la estructura de la novela se convierte en algo realmente fascinante porque el lector se enfrenta a unos datos que podrían haber surgido de una película o de una novela， pero son reales。 El lector toma consciencia de esto gracias a esta estructura en la que Nicholas Branch les recuerda continuamente que los datos que está manipulando no son ficción， sino que son hechos históricos puros y duros。 Hay momentos en los que Branch se horroriza porque el peso de la información es tan ingente que le resulta imposible encontrar la verdad que hay detrás。"Secretos que intercambiar y guardar， ciertos peligros， la posibilidad de moverme en puntos de tensión， de esgrimir un arma en la cara de la gente。 Es una sociedad hechizada。[。。。]Trabajo de espía， trabajo secreto， inventamos una sociedad en la que siempre se está en guerra。 La ley es muy poco flexible。"Hasta el momento Libra es la novela que me ha resultado más impactante de Don Delillo， no tanto por como nos presenta un hecho histórico tan llamativo y conocido， sino porque consigue dotar de auténtica humanidad un personaje tan mediático como Oswald， y no solo a él， sino a Margaret Oswald， su madre， o a Marina， su esposa rusa。 Delillo presenta a Oswald como un idealista que quiso cambiar el mundo pero esa carencia de herramientas emocionales que le hizo ser un inadaptado durante su vida， le convirtió en una especie de chivo expiatorio casi inconscientemente。 Oswald que estaba obsesionado por brillar y salir en el Times， lo consiguió y ahora aparece en todos los libros de historia， pero mucho después de muerto， y aquí está el gran talento de Delillo en su retrato de Lee Harvey Oswald， una persona en conflicto consigo misma， vulnerable y frágil， que llevo una vida de desesperación casi en silencio。 Una novela asombrosa e impactante que me ha emocionado en muchos momentos por la forma en que Delillo nos presenta la naturaleza humana。"Los libros eran privados， como algo que se encuentra y se oculta， un elemento de suerte que guarda el secreto de lo que eres。 Los libros mismos eran secretos prohibidos y dificiles de leer。 Modificaban la habitación， la dotaban de significado。 Esos libros explicaban y transformaban la monotonía de su entorno， sus ropas raídas。 Los libros le convertían en parte de algo。"[…]"Caminó por el centro vacío de Dallas， en un domingo vacío en medio del calor y de la luz。 Sintió la soledad que siempre le desagradaba reconocer， un aislamiento más vasto que Rusia， sueños más extraños ， un resplandor blanco y mortecino que escuece。"https://kansasbooks。blogspot。com/2022。。。 。。。more
Robert
，
At a certain point stories based on intelligence/espionage activities become procedurals with a handful of more exotic characters than might found in NYPD。 And at a certain point semi-factual works of fiction based on well-known stories fall into the procedural trap。 Libra by Don Delillo becomes very tedious by the halfway mark。 His writing is good， his thoughts often fascinating， but as he builds out speculation about the folks who may have played a role in Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination of At a certain point stories based on intelligence/espionage activities become procedurals with a handful of more exotic characters than might found in NYPD。 And at a certain point semi-factual works of fiction based on well-known stories fall into the procedural trap。 Libra by Don Delillo becomes very tedious by the halfway mark。 His writing is good， his thoughts often fascinating， but as he builds out speculation about the folks who may have played a role in Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination of JFK， the pieces of this narrative take on a brick by brick by brick quality。 The bit players are a bunch of dolts; they take up too much space。 More interesting is the speculation about Oswald， his Russian wife， and his mother。 Oswald here is a guy determined to be noticed and to make a difference， but he is quiet about it， which is interesting。 His wandering into and out of Russia is interesting。 He wants to be understood by fellow Marxists （he wasn't a Marxist-Leninist， he says）， but he is not involved in anything for the long haul。 He wants pay-off。 He does this， he does that， he goes， he comes back。 He's hard to keep track of， hard to program， a wild card。 That's what works in this novel。 The Jack Ruby stuff， the ex-CIA， ex-FBI stuff， the Bay-of-Pigs veterans stuff， lacks graininess。 There are hard-headed dopes in those worlds， but it's not a good idea to focus on them per se。 So， yeah， I was disappointed and began skimming。 That didn't make much difference。 I kept "getting" where things were going by reading every third or fourth paragraph。 But toward the end， things coalesced more convincingly， and I read the last fifty pages word for word， which is my usual approach。Fortunately， as I nosed around the Oswald story， I happened to notice Norman Mailer wrote a similar book。 Now that I know he did， I know I won't read it。 So Delillo did cure me of interest and save me some time。 。。。more
Matt Ingwalson
，
Half of me thinks Libra is the perfect meld of philosophical text and crime story。 The other half thinks it suffers a little in comparison to DeLillo's White Noise， which is more stylish and filled with more quirky angst， and Ellroy's American Tabloid， a novel I believe Libra directly inspired。 Great book， either way。 Half of me thinks Libra is the perfect meld of philosophical text and crime story。 The other half thinks it suffers a little in comparison to DeLillo's White Noise， which is more stylish and filled with more quirky angst， and Ellroy's American Tabloid， a novel I believe Libra directly inspired。 Great book， either way。 。。。more
Jacob Tilmon
，
Historical fiction about the assassination of JFK by Lee Harvey Oswald。 Great read to learn about the feelings of people at the time and to imagine exactly who might have had a hand in the assassination。 While it does drag at moments midway through， I found it to be enjoyable and worth the read。
Beck Siegal
，
I think the CIA might be evil / bad ？ Is this possible ？ （Militant on cover） also also I am Susanne
ipek
，
4。5 I'm finally convinced that DeLillo is a genius， and I'm also convinced that everything in this novel is factually accurate。 Don't be modest， Don。 4。5 I'm finally convinced that DeLillo is a genius， and I'm also convinced that everything in this novel is factually accurate。 Don't be modest， Don。 。。。more
John Oakley
，
Great！ I think more of a 4。5， at times it feels like it went more subject matter fact dump， but overall there is a type of enchantment about this book。 You get sucked in in the same way a conspiracy can suck people in， but not because you think this account is what actually happened， but because the power and force of delillo describing “history” and “stories within a story” and how individuals fit into those grander concepts。 Which I guess is true delillo， small small people fitting into a gran Great！ I think more of a 4。5， at times it feels like it went more subject matter fact dump， but overall there is a type of enchantment about this book。 You get sucked in in the same way a conspiracy can suck people in， but not because you think this account is what actually happened， but because the power and force of delillo describing “history” and “stories within a story” and how individuals fit into those grander concepts。 Which I guess is true delillo， small small people fitting into a grand grand scheme 。。。more
David
，
Bitter， vengeful， low/middle-rank career espionage men， wife-beaters and cheaters， conspiracy addicts and makers， men who derive intense satisfaction from the emotional vampire act of feeling someone else's fear as they wave guns in faces， liars， paranoid， depressed， confused， tough-talking， violent， aggressive， arrogant， manly-men， sure of their own rightness in the face of so much wrong。 These are the good guys。 I find Libra a hard novel to like。 I admire the work， the use of research and imag Bitter， vengeful， low/middle-rank career espionage men， wife-beaters and cheaters， conspiracy addicts and makers， men who derive intense satisfaction from the emotional vampire act of feeling someone else's fear as they wave guns in faces， liars， paranoid， depressed， confused， tough-talking， violent， aggressive， arrogant， manly-men， sure of their own rightness in the face of so much wrong。 These are the good guys。 I find Libra a hard novel to like。 I admire the work， the use of research and imagination， the way in which the reader is drawn to see whatever there might be to pity in most of the characters， and the ultimate honesty that history itself probably has much more accidental and unresolvable about it than most people like to accept。But I don't feel much sympathy for anyone。 Anyone of my generation should already know the story。 The novelist （as he freely explains） invents and imagines within the conflicting streams of what is "known" to imagine for the reader the "how" and "why" of the already familiar "what。" But knowing what--the Kennedy assassination， Ruby's killing of Oswald--I found it difficult to really care about "why" or "how"--historical or imagined。 I find myself where I often find myself in reading fiction these days: I see something relatively well done， but I also wonder if it was worth doing。 。。。more
Evie
，
The prevailing theme of DeLillo's 'Libra' is inexorability。 Of course， this is hardly surprising for a book explicitly about the Kennedy assassination， which sooner or later has to come to a head （or lack thereof）。 By constructing a conspiracy plot with the known facts of the Kennedy assassination， DeLillo has， in many ways， crafted a distinctly historical narrative。 Indeed， the elements of 'Libra' that might be seen as novelistic failures can be seen as emblematic of historical accuracy， from i The prevailing theme of DeLillo's 'Libra' is inexorability。 Of course， this is hardly surprising for a book explicitly about the Kennedy assassination， which sooner or later has to come to a head （or lack thereof）。 By constructing a conspiracy plot with the known facts of the Kennedy assassination， DeLillo has， in many ways， crafted a distinctly historical narrative。 Indeed， the elements of 'Libra' that might be seen as novelistic failures can be seen as emblematic of historical accuracy， from its unwieldy length to its lack of composite characters to its abrupt ending。 Still， there are genuine criticisms to be made about some of DeLillo’s writing， particularly about the interiority he affords to his non-Lee Harvey Oswald characters。 While he does make some astute and sympathetic observations about the status of women， Black， Jewish and gay people， DeLillo’s approach to Marina， Oswald’s abused wife; David Ferrie， the only explicitly gay character and， not incidentally， pedophile in the book; Bobby Dupard， Oswald’s Black former cellmate and accomplice， and Jack Ruby， Jewish club owner and Oswald’s eventual killer， can sometimes seem a little shallow and border on caricature。 Part of this is simply the distance that DeLillo’s framing necessitates， alongside a level of historical reality， particularly concerning David Ferrie， but I do think that some of the other （White， gentile， male， straight） characters， like Win Everett， were afforded a more dynamic humanity。 In any case， his central psychological portrait of Oswald cannot be faulted。Moreover， 'Libra' is not historical retelling， but alternate history， theorising about a clandestine plot to use Oswald as a patsy in the Kennedy assassination。 Here， the Kennedy assassination is inevitable not only in the sense that it has already happened， but also in the way that the endings to tragic plays are inevitable， with the plot and characters not just moving towards the event， but being subsumed by it， warping all sense of linear time。 Yet DeLillo is also not wedded to the mythic machinations of the conspiracy plot and human action and sheer coincidence emerge as much agents of the assassination as fate and cabals。 Befitting its title， 'Libra' is ultimately a novel of balance and contradiction， and one of the greatest accounts of the split post-Kennedy US psyche。 As in Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 'The Conversation' （with Gene Hackman giving one of the greatest performances ever put to celluloid）， the possibilities of narrative， ideology and history are ineluctably destabilised by the interpretability of facts and their collective Borgesian map quality when applied to the novel format。 Even DeLillo’s controversial approach to dialogue has a level of contradiction embedded in it。 Personally， having read and loved Christina Stead’s ‘The Man Who Loved Children’， I’m of the belief that truly realistic dialogue between two people who know each other will and should seem impenetrable to a third party。 Of course， the majority of Stead’s dialogue is contained within the Pollitt family， allowing a level of acclimatisation to their speech patterns that DeLillo doesn’t afford his reader in the same way， perhaps because his characters rely on meticulous secrets in a way that the Pollitts do not。 But it is thematically interesting that （as DeLillo himself claims in this interview https://archive。nytimes。com/www。nytim。。。） it's the very realism of the dialogue which makes it seem unreal。In the end， everything is true; nothing is true， and Kennedy's head was blown off on 22nd November， 1963。 。。。more
Vivek
，
This was not an easy book to get through。 I never felt compelled to read it， and actually put it down after the first 100 pages or so and figured it just wasn't for me。 I'm glad I came back to finish it， but I can't say I recommend it。 Libra is a novel about JFK's assassin， Lee Harvey Oswald， and how he gets wrapped up in a CIA plot to kill the president。 Chapters mostly alternate between Lee's life and a big cast of other characters associated with the plot or investigating it after-the-fact。 I This was not an easy book to get through。 I never felt compelled to read it， and actually put it down after the first 100 pages or so and figured it just wasn't for me。 I'm glad I came back to finish it， but I can't say I recommend it。 Libra is a novel about JFK's assassin， Lee Harvey Oswald， and how he gets wrapped up in a CIA plot to kill the president。 Chapters mostly alternate between Lee's life and a big cast of other characters associated with the plot or investigating it after-the-fact。 It was hard to keep track of these other characters， and the chapters about Lee kept him at a distance， so that after finishing a nearly 450 page novel I didn't feel like I really understood many of these characters。 I'm not sure why the novel had to be this long or convoluted。 This was a book club pick and I don't think I would have gotten through it if I was just reading it for myself。 It felt more like a dense， lit class book than one you pick up and read for fun: there are some satisfying insights and language here， but you have to work to get through them all。 Having said that， there is really great language throughout: it was rare for me to go more than a few pages without admiring a turn of phrase or sentence。 DeLillo weaves a ton of interesting social commentary throughout this novel and its various characters。 Despite the distance at which we learn about Lee， DeLillo still paints an impressive， deep， portrait of a lost idealist who is never able to really take charge of his life or happiness in a satisfying way （"But idealists of course are unpredictable。 They tend to be the ones who turn bitter overnight， deceived by the lies they told themselves。"）。 Some of the other characters， like Lee's mother， are memorable， even if their portrayals felt problematic to me at times。I think there's a version of this book that could have been a super interesting thriller， without losing all of the value of the deeper insights and commentary， and I was hoping that's what this book would be when I started reading it。 It is an impressive feat to weave fact and fiction together like this， and I also think I would enjoyed this a lot more if I'd known more about the assassination of JFK and the questions about what really happened there。 I wonder what it would be like to read a fictional imagining of something like January 6 a few decades from now。 Without that dramatic irony， this was a letdown for me。 Still， I would try another DeLillo book， since so much of the writing was so good。 。。。more
Ryan
，
Powerful book not so much about JFK as about the lies Americans live in， the loneliness and alienation we feel as a result and the lengths we'll go to create grandiosity in our lives to give ourselves a semblance of meaning。 Would be a 5-star but is a little bit bloated in certain places and could probably have been edited down slightly。。。 all the same， the plot is woven together hypnotically and the final 50 or so pages are captivating。 Putting in so much of Lee Harvey Oswald's mother's perspec Powerful book not so much about JFK as about the lies Americans live in， the loneliness and alienation we feel as a result and the lengths we'll go to create grandiosity in our lives to give ourselves a semblance of meaning。 Would be a 5-star but is a little bit bloated in certain places and could probably have been edited down slightly。。。 all the same， the plot is woven together hypnotically and the final 50 or so pages are captivating。 Putting in so much of Lee Harvey Oswald's mother's perspective was a deft touch。 。。。more
Dave Schaafsma
，
Libra， by Don DeLillo （1988） is the story of the assassination of President John F。 Kennedy ， focused on the life of Lee Harvey Oswald， the presumed killer。 One of DeLillo’s narrators claims what many people thought and think; the killing of JFK， “broke the back of the American century。” JFK was a Gemini， but Oswald was a Libra。The astrological sign Libra is obsessed with symmetry and strives to create equilibrium in all areas of life。 Plots， order。 Sense-making。 Possibly this might apply to man Libra， by Don DeLillo （1988） is the story of the assassination of President John F。 Kennedy ， focused on the life of Lee Harvey Oswald， the presumed killer。 One of DeLillo’s narrators claims what many people thought and think; the killing of JFK， “broke the back of the American century。” JFK was a Gemini， but Oswald was a Libra。The astrological sign Libra is obsessed with symmetry and strives to create equilibrium in all areas of life。 Plots， order。 Sense-making。 Possibly this might apply to many storytellers， including DeLillo。While I was never a conspiracy theorist per se， I have read a lot of books over the years about the assassination of President John F。 Kennedy， including various theories of whodunnit and a range of cover-ups。 I knew people that for years went to conferences on various conspiracy theories， and hey， this one--that Oswald did not act alone--was originally a left-wing conspiracy theory that many people--now including lots of Republicans， too--still ascribe to！ “[Lee Oswald] saw himself as part of something vast and sweeping。 He was the product of a sweeping history， he and his mother， locked into a process， a system of money and property that diminished their human worth every day， as if by scientific law。 The [political， Marxist] books made him part of something。 Something led up to his presence in this room， in this particular skin， and something would follow。 Men in small rooms。 Men reading and waiting， struggling with secret and feverish ideas。” Everyone in the sixties seemed devastated by the killing。 My sister and I were sent home from elementary school， passing by all the teachers sobbing in the hallway， hugging each other。 I was mystified， afraid。 I’d been to funerals but never had seen a teacher cry。 My sister and I ran home from school to find my mom watching live televised news: The shooting of one of the most beloved Presidents of all time， territory occupied by Lincoln and FDR。 Would he die？ He was at the hospital。 Soon after，we did in fact hear he was dead。 Before the release of the Warren Commission report a Gallup poll found that only 29 percent of Americans thought Oswald acted alone， while 52 percent believed in some kind of conspiracy。 A few months after the release of the report， 87 percent of respondents believed ex-Marine， Russian defector Oswald--alone--shot the President。 It found， too， that Oswald’s death 48 hours later at the hands of local nightclub （strip club） owner Jack Ruby was an act of spontaneous revenge， and most people at the time seemed to agree。So the Warren report was in retrospect pretty darned surprisingly persuasive in the sixties， but each year subsequent to， say， 1968-- saw an erosion of trust in government claims about the killings: Conspiracy theories proliferated and still abound。 MLK was killed， Bobby Kennedy was killed。 Could this sequence of events just be random？ Thanks to the government response to the civil rights movement and Vietnam， government confidence in government was steadily eroding。 The most popular theory was and maybe still is that the CIA， unhappy with the political direction of the country under JFK--flubbed Bay of Pigs invasion， Civil Rights “activism”--wanted him eliminated， and found a patsy， a guy that had defected to the Soviet Union， returned and might look like a Castro-leaning commie to cover the CIA’s tracks。 Few ever bought that Castro was behind it， really， but everyone spun theories。“There is a world inside the world”--DeLillo。 Wheels within wheels。Why did I read this now？ Last year I read Stephen King’s fine alt-history， 11/23/63 （2011）， and loved it， I had seen Oliver Stone’s crazy but immersive JFK （1991） more than once and found it provocative， and I had seen the Zapruder film of the murder many many times。 I also saw--live， on tv--the killing of Oswald by Jack Ruby。 One weekend saw the murder of a President and then， the murder of his murderer; so was it now case closed？ Gerald Posner thought so， writing Case Closed （1993）， one of the most influential books on the subject， essentially confirming the Warren Commission findings。 And yet most Americans still did not and do not today believe we have seen all the evidence。By 1983 only 11% polled believed Oswald acted alone。 What we know is that Oswald was involved， too， in an attempted assassinaton of Major General Walker， a rightwing white nationalist， John Birch Society extremist--a guy who said the three threats to the USA were cooomunism， socialism and JFK。 So that seems confusing， right？“God made big people。 And God made little people。 But Colt made the 。45 to even things up”--attributed to some Texas NRA viewsIn several of his novels， DeLillo explores the idea of the increasing visibility and effectiveness of terrorists as societal actors， so this fits his concerns with violence， with cultural extremism， conformity， political and bureaucratic structures。 Paranoia。 Plots。 Secrets。DeLillo wrote， "The writer must oppose systems。 It's important to write against power， corporations， the state， and the whole system of consumption and of debilitating entertainments。 。 。 I think writers， by nature， must oppose things， oppose whatever power tries to impose on us。”DeLillo’s book is a novel， asserting the influence of the CIA in the process， suggesting they used Oswald as their killer。 James Ellroy said his own take on the events， American Tabloid， was inspired by Libra。 Stephen King， Don DeLillo， James Ellroy， three literary heavy hitters taking on the JFK killing。 Impressive fictional contributions to the conversation。 I’ll read the Ellroy next year， maybe。What’s DeLillo’s big book like？ Well， I’m also reading courtroom thrillers from Michael Connelly--his Lincoln Lawyer series--and it’s flatter than those books， not a thriller。 It’s not lyrical or emotional， it’s like a literary biography， serious historical fiction， well-researched， highly readable。 Thirty years ago I had read several of his books--Mao II， Underworld， White Noise， others。These books now remind me a bit of the comics of Nick Drnaso--Sabrina， Beverly--cool social and cultural critiques。 Almost abstract philosophical reflections on American culture。*Coincidences or synchronicity？ JFK and LHO had brothers named Robert。 They were both vets。 They struggled with spelling。 What do all these things add up to， if anything？ * DeLillo does not romanticize the womanizer JFK。 He is seen as fallible on Vietnam， Communism， many things that especially angered the political right。 Dallas newspapers posted ominous ads “welcoming” JFK to Dallas。 * Oswald beat his wife， Marina， was photographed by her dressed in black， holding guns。 He dropped out of school to join the Marines。 He read Marxist theory。 How does it all add up？ I was fully engaged with what is for me now a familiar story， yet another theory that encompasses the zeitgeist of the time--the struggle with the Domino-anti-commie theory that was also the basis of the lies leading to the tragedy of Vietnam; the struggles of a racist early sixties America， punishing the lefties。I think this 1988 book is relevant for all the terrorist killings both in the USA and over the world， then and now: “Think of two parallel lines。 [。 。 。] One is the life of Lee H。 Oswald。 One is the conspiracy to kill the President。 What bridges the space between them？ What makes a connection inevitable？ There is a third line。 It comes out of dreams， visions， intuitions， prayers， out of the deepest levels of the self。 It's not generated by cause and effect like the other two lines。 It's a line that cuts across causality， cuts across time。 It has no history that we can recognize or understand。 But it forces a connection。 It puts a man on the path of his destiny”--CIA operative trying to talk Lee into doing the murder“All conspiracies are the same taut story of men who find coherence in some criminal act。”“Even as he printed the words， he imagined people reading them， people moved by his loneliness and disappointment， even by his wretched spelling， the childish mesh of his composition。 Let them see the struggle and humiliation， the effort he had to exert to write a simple sentence。 The pages were crowded， smudged， urgent， a true picture of his state of mind， of his rage and frustration， knowing a thing but not being able to record it properly。”“After Oswald， men in America are no longer required to lead lives of quiet desperation。 You apply for a credit card， buy a handgun， travel through cities， suburbs and shopping malls， anonymous， anonymous， looking for a chance to take a shot at the first puffy empty famous face， just to let people know there is someone out there who reads the papers。”“The falling away of things we carry around with us， twilight and chimney smoke。”A great book in many ways， narrated with a kind of steady， cool reserve， thought-provoking。 。。。more
Jorge Martínez
，
DeLillo anduvo para que James Ellroy pudiera correr。
Vincent Scarpa
，
I don’t think this is DeLillo’s best book， as some do， but I do think that it’s an incredible achievement in imagination。 Lee and Marguerite Oswald are two of the most well-drawn characters I’ve ever come across。 For me， the novel was sporadically difficult to keep a grip on， mostly because it is overpopulated with characters — men in and out of the government — who could’ve easily been condensed into composites。 But this is of course DeLillo’s way， and it’s almost entirely forgivable。 （Hot tip: I don’t think this is DeLillo’s best book， as some do， but I do think that it’s an incredible achievement in imagination。 Lee and Marguerite Oswald are two of the most well-drawn characters I’ve ever come across。 For me， the novel was sporadically difficult to keep a grip on， mostly because it is overpopulated with characters — men in and out of the government — who could’ve easily been condensed into composites。 But this is of course DeLillo’s way， and it’s almost entirely forgivable。 （Hot tip: It may be useful to you to， as I did， keep a running list of the characters and how they intersect with one another！） 。。。more
Erk H
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As a guy who can't get anybody at Social Security on the phone （after an hour wait）， who isn't a total snot， I long for a Cold War America where a Marine 'marksman' who couldn't hit a ginormous limousine crawling 11 miles per hour could defect to Russia from a U-2 spy base， then -snap！ --and be taken back as an American citizen in 24 hours， hang out with a bunch of anti-Castro/Kennedy Cubans， and then get handed a book depository job overlooking a Presidential motorcade with a ridorkulous detour As a guy who can't get anybody at Social Security on the phone （after an hour wait）， who isn't a total snot， I long for a Cold War America where a Marine 'marksman' who couldn't hit a ginormous limousine crawling 11 miles per hour could defect to Russia from a U-2 spy base， then -snap！ --and be taken back as an American citizen in 24 hours， hang out with a bunch of anti-Castro/Kennedy Cubans， and then get handed a book depository job overlooking a Presidential motorcade with a ridorkulous detour which almost seemed designed solely for him！ Either efficiency of the Greatest Generation， or。。。I dunno， something fishy， I guess。 。。。more
Julio Pino
，
"One day I will do something that will be remembered for the next 10，000 years。" L。H。O。 to his Marine buddies。If I told you the following story you would not believe me: a lonely little boy， born after his father's death to a batty mother spends his days skipping school and riding the New York subways， watches lots of television， especially his favorite program， I LED THREE LIVES， joins the armed forces， drops out， defects to the Soviet Union， and then leaves with a Russian wife and daughter， re "One day I will do something that will be remembered for the next 10，000 years。" L。H。O。 to his Marine buddies。If I told you the following story you would not believe me: a lonely little boy， born after his father's death to a batty mother spends his days skipping school and riding the New York subways， watches lots of television， especially his favorite program， I LED THREE LIVES， joins the armed forces， drops out， defects to the Soviet Union， and then leaves with a Russian wife and daughter， returns to the United States， drifts some more， Dallas to New Orleans to Mexico City and back to Dallas， and goes on to commit a crime that will indeed make him famous for the next ten millennia。 Lee Harvey Oswald lived out this grotesque fantasy， making it hard for the master of post-modern fiction， Don DeLillo， to improve on it。 （Incidentally， notice how Lee's life paralleled that of Hitler's， who fascinated Oswald。） DeLillo's game is to turn Lee into both perpetrator and pawn of history。 LIBRA depicts a world of rogue CIA agents， Cuban exiles and mafiosi， all of who want John F。 Kennedy dead。 Oswald is simultaneously their agent and fall guy。 He's in on the plot but does not grasp， and is not allowed to grasp， the foul deed he is about to commit。 He is both slaughter and sacrificial lamb。 DeLillo is not spawning yet another JFK conspiracy theory here but aiming at a much bigger target。 We are all pawns and puppets of dark forces that will forever lie beyond our ken， and history is， at best， a guessing-game。 BTW， LIBRA was supposed to be turned into "a major motion picture" but got pre-empted by Oliver Stone's pro-Kennedy JFK （1991）。 。。。more
Sam Peers
，
everything directly about Oswald is DeLillo’s best writing （from what I have read ）。 I also think the book is strongest when exploring the inner lives of real people - Jack Ruby， David Ferrie， Oswald’s family。 So many small human details from endless analysis and documentation that flesh them out， which is commented on by the Nicholas Branch character （I enjoyed this）。 But especially early on， the other fictional CIA guys brought the book down for me。 Whenever Oswald’s not on the page， all the o everything directly about Oswald is DeLillo’s best writing （from what I have read ）。 I also think the book is strongest when exploring the inner lives of real people - Jack Ruby， David Ferrie， Oswald’s family。 So many small human details from endless analysis and documentation that flesh them out， which is commented on by the Nicholas Branch character （I enjoyed this）。 But especially early on， the other fictional CIA guys brought the book down for me。 Whenever Oswald’s not on the page， all the other characters should be asking “Where’s Oswald？”I would give this a five-star but I know I spent most of the first half thinking this is three-star material。 But the average of those two star-numbers… 。。。more
Sam Catanzaro
，
Read this book over the course of three vacations this year。 Despite the breaks between picking this book up， it remained a cohesive， easy to follow novel （which is impressive considering the complicated plot）
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Libra
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Libra&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Libra&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0