Libra (1988) is Don DeLillo's version of the Kennedy Assassination conspiracy. Primarily, it is the Oswald story with a background narrative of various conspirators who draw him into their network, largely to cover themselves over the Bay of Pigs fiasco. The conspirators include CIA agents, Guy Bannister associates, and most compelling of all David Ferrie, the alopecia-victim who knows them all. A third narrative strand is the recruitment of Jack Ruby by mobsters who want the Oswald problem to go away. Was Oswald just a patsy? Let's settle for not entirely.
It is really well done - this story is so compelling, it's hard to see how any retelling can fall short. Oswald is well drawn. One problem, which is historical, though I only realised it on reading this, is that he was so young (only 24) and yet his backstory is so crammed with incident: marine, Russia, verious short term jobs, Marina, two kids, the attempt on General Walker... I hadn't realised, either, how recently he had started work at the Book Depository.
Other than Oswald, Ferrie is the standout character in Libra. DeLillo makes him splendidly creepy. The night he tries to seduce Oswald will live long (and vividly) in my mind. The making of the novel, though, is DeLillo's signature style, somewhere between Norman Mailer and James Ellroy, with dialogue, I feel, superior to both. Brilliant - the best DeLillo I have read thus far.
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