Oh yes, this one truly hit the mark, especially after a couple of rather disappointing reads beforehand.

I have always considered DeLillo to be a somewhat inconsistent writer. He can be rather sloppy in one novel and yet quite brilliant in another. However, when he is at his very best, as I firmly believe he is in this particular work, it makes for an incredibly rewarding reading experience.

Apart from the basic knowledge that Oswald shot JFK and then was killed two days later by Jack Ruby, my understanding of the entire history leading up to this arguably most significant assassination was practically non-existent. Given this fact, I had no idea what was purely fictional or half-speculative and what was more based on fact. Clearly, DeLillo has taken a great deal of stale research material and woven together something entirely new, largely by simply inventing and filling in the blanks, so to speak. From what I have read of him, DeLillo has a sharp eye for conspiracy, and his fascination with this theme is in full force here, without a doubt. This novel also had a genuine sense of slow-building dread, despite the fact that you know what is going to happen throughout. It had me thinking, although they are completely different novels, of 'The Names', which happens to be one of my favorite DeLillo works. Well, now I have another.

In particular, I was extremely fascinated by the whole Castro angle of the novel, as well as Oswald's time spent in Russia where he met his wife. From the brilliant interior monologues to the richly constructed scenes involving a whole array of other characters, this complex and labyrinthine underworld of a novel was simply of the highest quality. And due to the way the plot is structured, it was probably DeLillo's most complex work at that time.

It's a five-star rating for me.

This book by DeLillo offers a brilliant and in-depth exploration into the background of Kennedy's presumed assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.

It even includes a cameo appearance of his killer, Jack Ruby. The writing is excellent, with a well-paced narrative that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. It is truly a great read.

I would rate it on the same level as "Mao II" and "White Noise," but slightly below "Underworld."

So, if you have already read "Underworld," this book is an essential addition to your DeLillo collection. It provides a unique perspective on a historical event and the people involved, and is sure to satisfy fans of DeLillo's work.

Overall, it is a must-read for anyone interested in history, politics, or literature.

Don Delillo does not make it easy for the reader.

The text is highly dense, and based on the characters, the story is far from following a linear chronological order; it requires time to adapt.

Moreover, I often have difficulties with some of his dialogues which I would describe as enigmatic.

A Don Delillo novel must be generating income!

Does this imply that one must have a good knowledge of the JFK case to appreciate "Libra"? I don't think it's an obligation, but it will definitely clarify the reading and enhance the pleasure one derives from it; that's enough about the negatives.

Once fully engaged, we turn the pages unconsciously.

The crucial point is the magnificent portrayal of Lee Harvey Oswald crafted by Don.

This antihero will continuously miss out on his life without being able to control or understand the significance of his actions or encounters.

This book is not just another rendition of what might have happened on November 22. Instead, it is more of a series of captivating portraits of the various, more or less direct participants in the plot, culminating in a thriller, with the final scenes of the assassination being a pure masterpiece of writing.

Beyond the bare facts, we appropriate the context, the elements, and the emotions of the protagonists.

It is mastered until the end and is extremely successful.

Very profound.

DeLillo and I have now become friends!! We initially got off on the wrong foot, but "Libra" has mended our relationship. I share Paul's suspicions that "Libra" and "White Noise" might have been written by the same person. If I had been given these two books without their covers, I wouldn't have guessed that the words originated from the same figurative pen.

"Libra" is an outstanding piece of work. It features a large cast of characters and a complex web of events, all masterfully handled. Although DeLillo's characters don't fully open up to the readers, they are still haunting and memorable. The writing is dense, with a lot of subtextual meaning. Instead of directly stating the mood of a scene or a character's feelings, he creates the atmosphere with his words and effectively conveys the emotions. For example, he gives the sense of time passing slowly or rapidly without explicitly saying so. Oswald's mother's neurotic behavior, his wife Marina's feelings of helplessness, and the dilemmas of many other characters are portrayed so well that even minor characters leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Unlike typical thrillers where characters are mere caricatures, DeLillo's characters are real. They take the time to breathe and think, and the reader is privy to their objectives, motivations, hesitations, and dilemmas. Despite knowing the outcome of the story, it remains interesting.

For me, the most remarkable aspect of "Libra" is the portrayal of Lee Harvey Oswald. He is terrifyingly real and complex, not fitting into the mold of a hero or anti-hero. I neither like nor dislike him, but I feel great sympathy for him. His life seems to be one big accident, as if he blindly followed a path without much direction. As a young teenager, Marxism and communism caught his interest, and this passion became his guiding light. What if something else had attracted his attention at that time? He would have been a completely different person. Although his behavior is far from perfect, he has many great qualities that could have led him to an exemplary life. He is a man of great commitment, standing by his beliefs and willing to go to great lengths to support them. The book often mentions how painstakingly he continued to write and read despite his dyslexia.

Like Lee's life, the theme of accidental happenings is also emphasized by DeLillo. Agent Branch, trying to solve the complex puzzle of events leading up to JFK's assassination, realizes that it's impossible to know how much of history was planned and how much was due to coincidences and destiny. For any scheme to succeed, many things need to fall into place.

I'm withholding the fifth star only because political thrillers and conspiracy theories don't hold much interest for me. However, "Libra" is truly impressive.

UPDATE: "Libra" has been on hold for a long time as I've been busy with other things. Recently, I happened to drive by the actual location of Kennedy's assassination and the sixth floor museum.

This is DeLillo's second and last chance to impress me. All my GR friends have given this book either 4 or 5 stars (mostly 5), so my expectations are high. If it starts to sound like "White Noise," it's going straight out of my window. Mr. DeLillo, the pressure is on. Pull up your socks.

I Believe All That I Read Now

"I believe all that I read now
Night has come off the corners
Shadows flicker sweet and tame
Dancing like crazy mourners."

Howard Devoto, "Motorcade"

Plots That Move Toward Death

"Libra" has a plot that, as Don DeLillo himself put it, "tends to move deathwards". Here, DeLillo elaborates on this idea, stating that plots carry their own logic and have a tendency to move toward death. The novel alternates between place and time as it moves inexorably towards the assassination of JFK and the subsequent murder of Oswald. It's interesting to note the different terms we use to describe these acts of violence. Does the identity of the victim really elevate the crime?

If there's one factor that differentiates assassinations and murders, it's their place in history. The murder of a prominent figure is more likely to become part of history, while the murder of a less public figure may only gain temporary notoriety.

The Secret World Inside the World

Although DeLillo reveals much about the personal lives of the characters, his main concern seems to be their part in history. He blurs the boundary between public and private by outlining the private aspects of a public event. He writes, "There is a world inside the world", and it's this inner world that he's interested in, no matter how personal or secret it may seem.

The CIA operative, Win Everett, uses a domestic analogy to describe secrets. He believes that secrets are an exalted state, almost a dream state, and that they're a way of arresting motion and seeing ourselves in the world. DeLillo describes the secret in almost spiritual terms, as "the life-insight, the life-secret".

Coherence in Some Criminal Act

DeLillo's interest in conspiracy theories may be secondary to his interest in secrecy and mystery. Another CIA agent, Laurence Parmenter, sings about the jolly coverts who lie and spy. DeLillo adds that spy work creates a society where it's always wartime and that these systems collect and process all the secret knowledge of the world. He also writes that the thing that hovers over every secret is betrayal.

Towards the end of the novel, DeLillo writes that if we're on the outside, we assume a conspiracy is the perfect working of a scheme. In contrast, he describes secrecy in the community as a form of intimacy that deceives us into truthfulness.

The Whirl of History Inside Him

Even at school, Oswald was interested in subjects and ideas of historic scope. He was concerned with social justice and the plight of the working class. For him, the people of Russia represented "the other world, the secret that covers one-sixth of the land surface of the earth". He read Marxist books to fuel and develop his interests, believing that history was a force that could merge his life with the greater tide of history.

Another CIA operative, David Ferrie, tells Oswald that he's a quirk of history and a coincidence. He believes that there's a hidden principle that forces a connection between Oswald's life and the conspiracy to kill the President. DeLillo suggests that the CIA made Jack Ruby "a dupe of history".

The Deepest Levels of the Self

Ferrie elaborates on the connection between Oswald's life and the conspiracy, saying that there's a third line that comes out of the deepest levels of the self and cuts across causality and time. This line forces a connection and puts a man on the path of his Destiny.

The Secret History of the Mystery

DeLillo used the fictitious CIA employee, Nicholas Branch, to write the secret history of the assassination. He believes that there's enough mystery in the facts as we know them and that there's no need to invent a grand and masterful scheme. Attached to history is a concern with the role of destiny, and Parmenter believes that nothing can be finally known that involves human motive and need.

Mystery inhabits the gap or space between facts or knowledge. For all our attempts to understand life's mysteries through art and fiction, we still can't truly comprehend them. Instead, we institutionalize them, leading us into submission. As DeLillo achieves with Oswald's story, it's this mystery that puts us in our place and time in history.

SOUNDTRACK:

Stevie Wonder - "Superstition"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CFuC...
Jeff Beck - "Superstition"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHVPa...
Magazine - "Motorcade"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZvI-...
Magazine - "Motorcade" [Live on "So It Goes"]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gui2s...
Luxuria - "Redneck"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffcPW...
Bob Dylan - "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (Live at the Manchester Free Trade Hall, 17 May, 1966)
https://youtu.be/af7ngGxEusE
"The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense
Take what you have gathered from coincidence"

The definitive book on the mother of all conspiracies and how the Mafia/CIA/FBI/Anticastrists almost accidentally led a twenty-three-year-old boy who had no motive, no capabilities, and no will to kill Kennedy.

Unrivaled DeLillo makes Oswald a negative Forrest Gump who traverses the universe - America, a detritus among the detritus.

The wonderful Stabat mater at the end is then truly remarkable. It presents a complex and thought-provoking narrative that delves deep into the mysteries and uncertainties surrounding this historical event. DeLillo's masterful storytelling weaves together various elements, creating a vivid and engaging portrait of Oswald and the forces that may have influenced him. The use of the comparison to Forrest Gump adds an interesting layer, highlighting Oswald's seemingly random path through life and his unexpected role in one of the most significant events in American history. Overall, this book offers a unique and captivating perspective on the Kennedy assassination and is a must-read for anyone interested in this topic.

A friend of mine once sat me down and insisted that I watch the documentary "Loose Change." For those who are not familiar, "Loose Change" is a detailed documentary that presents the idea that 9/11 was a false flag operation. Its main approach is to follow the money. Without a doubt, it is a disturbingly convincing film on many levels. However, at a certain point, I started to think about the urgency with which my friend needed to believe that he now possessed secret inside information. I could sense how he felt it gave him power. To believe that you have the secret to a plot is to transform from a bystander to an insider. And the enthusiasm with which he wanted to convert me to his way of thinking was almost religious in nature. He had that intense, glazed look that Jehovah's Witnesses have when they come to your doorstep.

Nevertheless, there is no denying that the big four American conspiracy theories, all of which challenge the comforting notion that America is a democracy, are compelling stories. DeLillo described the JFK assassination as a story about our uncertain grip on the world, and the same could be said about 9/11 and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. What they all had in common was that they enabled hugely profitable wars to be continued or begun.

In his novel, DeLillo does not follow the money, nor does he pay much attention to Vietnam. However, he creates a highly plausible portrayal of how JFK came to be killed. "Libra" is probably DeLillo's only novel that has what could be described as an exciting plot. In fact, it is a novel that makes you think a great deal about the role that plot plays in life. A plot, you could say, is a kind of secret harmony of converging forces. We all like to think that there is a plot to our lives. We are happiest when we feel that we are in control of the plot, and unhappiest when it seems that someone else is plotting against us. In DeLillo's book, Oswald is constantly scrambling on the fringes of convention, searching for a plot for his life. What he most desires is to be seen and acknowledged - in other words, a taste of fame. He is a brilliant, multifaceted character, full of warring contradictions. You like him for showing kindness to persecuted, impoverished black men, but you hate him for beating his wife. He is so elusive that he eludes every attempt to pin him down. In this sense, he is like history itself.

Since this novel was published, Oliver Stone's film "JFK" has offered a detailed alternative account of the assassination, in which Oswald is completely innocent. In Stone's overly tidy version of events, everyone from Vice President Johnson, the CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, down to lowlife common criminals, is involved in the plot. The cover-up and the manipulation of evidence that probably always occur after any event that shakes a nation will always arouse the suspicion that those doing the covering up are also the ones who committed the crime. I'm not saying that I don't believe Stone's version. How can any of us really know? I do know that official accounts of historical events are generally self-serving and false. But DeLillo's more ambiguous version of events is, in my eyes, more credible. It begins with an idea by two disgruntled ex-CIA operatives who are angry that Kennedy is seeking a rapprochement with Castro. Their idea is to have someone fire a shot at JFK and miss, and then blame it on Castro. The idea spreads and changes as it travels.

For everyone who has never read DeLillo, who I believe is the most important living novelist, this is the perfect book to start with.

I'm told that the Don DeLillo who penned this masterpiece is the same individual who wrote Underworld and White Noise. However, as far as I'm concerned, that's a patently absurd theory, and I'm not buying it for a second. In fact, I've even hired a private investigator to get to the bottom of why there seem to be two Don DeLillos and why this one hasn't sued the other fool for giving him a bad name. It truly is a mystery.

Libra is simply outstanding. Its vocals, the backing, the bass, the drums - my goodness, the drums - and the harmonies are celestial. Wilsonian is the only word that comes to mind. And, of course, the lyrics.

As we know, it's about that JFK thing. The whole shebang. So, yes, this is the original conspiracy we're dealing with, the template that all other conspiracies draw from. Given my well-publicized loathing of all things conspiracy-theoretical, you might think I would want to give Libra a wide berth. But being a contrarian, I just couldn't. I even take contrary opinions to myself. I had to pay my dues. I had to look that damned conspiracy right in the face, rummage through its belly, and pick over what it ate last night. Ugh, all its grimy details, its filthy postulates, and its mind-damaging conclusion that - gasp, look away now - they ALL did it!

So I looked, stared, rummaged, poked, turned affidavits over in my hand, and ran the tape found in the camera up Marilyn Monroe's backside. All of that. Ech. It's so unappealing. It doesn't make you a better person.

This book is like dancing with Don DeLillo, with the young President, and with the handsome man who has no face and cannot be named, while ten quaaludes are sloshing through your bloodstream and dark hands are pouring margaritas for you at each slow waltz-like revolution of the enormous ballroom. From whose windows the glitterball reveals gun barrels glinting. Through all the slow-as-the-Devonian-Age build-up to even the first faint glimmerings of the plot to kill John Kennedy, your brain gets reformed, your aesthetic sense gets taken down and reworked with minor chords replacing all the major ones. It's like a dream, but a weird and lovely one, one of those thousand-year-long dreams you wake from on some Sundays when the world takes long minutes to suck back into place. How long have I been away? Whose face is on my own head now? It takes so long to read Libra, it's such a slog through all this stuff that might have happened like that or might, on the other hand, not have, or only partly.

What DD does in his gradually accelerating sarabande is to take the absolute standard CIA/Mafia/Teamsters/FBI/Cubans conspiracy and weave all the ghosts and spirits together, voices humming like a hive, all the five hundred characters, into a symphony of incidence and coincidence, knowingly but at the same time blindly moving like a giant shoal of fate towards the moving target in the limousine in Dallas on the day that Deep Purple by Nino Tempo and April Stevens was number one on the Billboard charts.

This is a truly fantastic novel. The imposter "Don DeLillo" could never have written it.

This book took approximately a month to read, so I should respect that time spent turning its pages and pen a few commemorative words.

All I can truly state is that on every page, the writing exudes literature, yet it is rarely literary in the traditional sense. What I mean by this is that DeLillo's sentences always seem to be eyeing a subtextual prize. They always appear as an updated, abstract response to that age-old question posed by some cave dweller about the meaning of life, rather than mere turns of phrase for the sake of well-crafted nothingness.

Any given paragraph is unmistakably DeLillo. His style is uniquely his own, yet it is also readable and clear, with lyrical potential, but never romantic or sensory solely for the purpose of activating the reader's senses. All the characters are part of the whole (society, history, the universe), and they have been brought to life solely to speak DeLillo's words.

This would be annoying if DeLillo had nothing to say, but he has some profound things to convey, and so his characters say them, and then conspire to kill the president. A particular brand of American anxiety is represented here.

This is a challenging review to write. What I should simply say is that several times while reading this on my way to work, I would burst out laughing at the awesome language or a turn, development, or insight (rarely at something funny, although humor exists if not necessarily in abundance), and sometimes I would even exclaim aloud that this guy is a freaking great writer.

I should be better able to articulate why I would say this aloud while walking and reading, but I think it has to do with his authority, ambition, dry-eyed humanity, intelligence/wisdom, scope/range, humor, boldness, the beautifully honed and hefty sentences, of course, and also something to do with the structure, how scenes emerge and dissolve (as Ethan says, "boldly") without much helpful orientation from the author, and it all seems held together loosely, artfully, in a way that seems to want to very carefully, very gently create in the reader a state similar to what the characters are experiencing. Something like that? It's really good. Maybe his masterpiece, even more so than "Underworld"? -- it definitely feels longer (maybe because it's denser?) and progresses slower than "Underworld". Also, plot-wise, the whole time you know how this one ends, but such knowledge is hardly an annoyance; in fact, it's the opposite, just like re-reading Hamlet, etc.

Epic poems, according to Poe, are wearisome. He opined that they can be a tiresome endeavor. However, he also acknowledged that this particular work is a masterpiece. It is a creation of genius that showcases remarkable talent and creativity.

Despite its genius, Poe confessed that he is relieved to have completed it. The process of writing an epic poem can be arduous and time-consuming, requiring great effort and concentration.

Perhaps the weariness stems from the sheer magnitude and complexity of the task. Epic poems often deal with grand themes, heroic deeds, and mythical figures, demanding a comprehensive and detailed exploration.

Nevertheless, Poe's relief at the end of this work is understandable. It marks the culmination of his efforts and the realization of a significant artistic achievement.

Although he found the process wearisome, the resulting work stands as a testament to his literary prowess and the enduring power of the epic poem.

In earlier times, the bullet had been other things, because Pythagorean metempsychosis is not reserved for humankind alone.
—Borges, "In Memoriam, J.F.K." (trans. Andrew Hurley)

Literature is the attempt to interpret, in an ingenious way, the myths we no longer understand, at the moment we no longer understand them, since we no longer know how to dream them or reproduce them. Literature is the competition of misinterpretations that consciousness naturally and necessarily produces on themes of the unconscious, and like every competition it has its prizes.
—Deleuze, "Desert Islands" (trans. Michael Taormina)

Much of the literature of the twentieth century serves as a cautionary tale against the aspiration for absolute knowledge. This is not so much a novel innovation, a form of "modernism," as it is a revival of pre-realist narrative styles, ranging from meta-fiction to satire, from Homer to Sterne. Conrad's and Faulkner's fragmented and incomplete narratives, Joyce's linguistically fabricated reality, Woolf's and Lawrence's emphasis on the unconscious, Borges's self-parodic idealism, Nabokov's "game of worlds," and many others. The ethical premise here, which is compatible with both belief (because God's ways are mysterious) and skepticism (because what do I truly know?), is that the world will always elude every abstraction. Every abstraction, therefore, should be regarded as the aesthetic creation that it clearly is, and evaluated based on its usefulness or beauty. Given sufficiently comprehensive definitions of beauty and usefulness that can encompass what we consider knowledge and morality, this ethic has seemed to our artists to be superior to the murderous self-confidence of the Enlightenment's less savory offshoots, both legitimate and illegitimate, such as religious fundamentalism and scientific socialism.

DeLillo's *Libra* is a remarkable contribution to this tradition. It presents a fictional hypothesis about the nature and purpose of the Kennedy assassination,描绘了一系列不同的情报人员、右翼极端分子、古巴流亡者和黑帮分子，他们密谋引诱美国对菲德尔·卡斯特罗发动战争。他们的第一个计划是模拟一次针对总统的共产主义暗杀企图，但最终他们策划了一次真正的暗杀，并将罪名嫁祸给一个与共产主义有联系的年轻神秘男子。当然，那个男人就是李·哈维·奥斯瓦尔德，《天秤座》在交替的章节中讲述了他从布朗克斯的青年时期到在日本海军陆战队服役以及叛逃到俄罗斯，再到在新奥尔良与阴谋者勾结并最终死在杰克·鲁比手中的成长小说兼悲剧。《天秤座》中以奥斯瓦尔德命名的章节——以他的星座命名，象征着他所处的悬而未决的判断状态——是小说的亮点。我已经读了大约一半的德里罗小说，到目前为止，奥斯瓦尔德是他创造的最深奥、最复杂的角色。一个觉得自己注定要加入历史潮流的人，实际上却受到机会、突发奇想和权威的影响。但在他追求更高意义的过程中，他成为了一种巡回的眼睛，一个世界全景的观察者，一个在十字准线大道上的冷战闲逛者。奥斯瓦尔德是一个沮丧的作家，患有诵读困难症，渴望写关于美国生活的短篇小说，他是一个很大程度上令人同情的警告，说明了审美想象力如何会因为将其愿景与历史的形状混淆而误入歧途。德里罗惊人地将奥斯瓦尔德重塑为一种拉斯柯尔尼科夫或代达罗斯式的人物，一个迷失在自己困惑的迷宫中、濒临暴力或放弃的聪明年轻人。通过这种方式，奥斯瓦尔德反映了那些利用他将自己的愿景变为现实的人，尽管他们得到的只是总统的头颅被炸掉一半，而不是卡斯特罗的下台。

同样，小说通过其精心构建的镜像结构展示了左翼和右翼总体化的一致性。在这一切之上或之下，作为作家和读者的替身，是中央情报局历史学家尼古拉斯·布兰奇，他的任务是撰写暗杀的历史，但他越来越意识到从事实的混乱中构建一个连贯的叙事是不可能的。这种不可能性对他的主人来说是方便的，他没有忽视这一点，我们也不应该忽视，但德里罗采取了布兰奇没有采取的步骤，从这个事件中提供了一种美学重建——文学，一种解释——这个事件在其神话般的比例（被杀害的国王，早逝的神）上太大，而在其日常琐事的无限性上又太小，难以理解。德里罗的解释是部分的，但却是公开虚构的，在其对审美感知的悄然强调中，它邀请了自己的批评和争议，它召唤了对立的愿景的产生。

我已经很多年没有研究肯尼迪遇刺事件了，但德里罗的版本似乎并非完全不可信，至少在他对深层国家特工、古巴流亡者和黑手党成员动机的分配上是这样。它与奥利弗·斯通那极其荒谬的《刺杀肯尼迪》中提出的情况有表面上的相似之处，但斯通呈现的是一个偏执的、无缝的、几乎公开的阴谋，甚至有林登·约翰逊说“你会得到你该死的战争”这样的情节，而德里罗更令人信服地描绘了一个杂乱无章的行动，在每一个转折点都受到意外、巧合、相互冲突的目的和混合动机的困扰。如果德里罗的版本不是实际发生的事情——他也没有声称是——它可能是一个很好的近似，说明这样的事情可能是如何发生的。斯通的宣传闹剧，就像许多法西斯主义想象的作品（“记住我们倒下的国王”）一样，被历史以滑稽的方式报复了。但德里罗的严肃目的和对讽刺的敏锐洞察力达到了接近悲剧的程度；他甚至提前从乔·佩西令人难忘且不可原谅的夸张表演中拯救了大卫·费里，小说中最迷人、最令人同情的角色之一（“这个人连他自己都觉得奇怪”）。（我应该在这里指出，历史记录的学生们认为费里从未被任何阴谋理论家公正对待过。）

然而，由于小说本身几乎公开的虚构性，以及它对处于或理解历史意味着什么的递归反思，这些历史和政治问题在某种程度上都无关紧要。这不是一部枯燥的哲学作品，而是一部充满生命力的小说。在一本臭名昭著的书名的著名序言中，康拉德写道：“一部作品，无论多么谦逊，只要它渴望达到艺术的境界，就应该在每一行都体现出它的合理性。”在康拉德的时代，一部小说能够在这个意义上渴望达到艺术的境界是一个新的想法，他帮助树立了这个标准。这个标准涉及到每一页上丰富的思想和情感——纳博科夫所说的“感性思维”。詹姆斯说小说家是一个对任何事情都不会忽视的人。一部小说是一个句子一个句子的发明；在一部低俗小说中，每个句子都必须推进情节，但在一部艺术小说中，每个句子都必须推进视野。《天秤座》是如此具有创造性，几乎在每一段都令人惊讶，以至于德里罗似乎从未忽视任何事情。你看着他，就好像他是一个现场表演者。我几乎可以随意引用。在恐同的冷战时期，一个秘书是如何和费里一起笑的：
“为什么同性恋者沉迷于肥皂剧？”费里心不在焉地说。“因为我们的生活是一个生动的情景。”
德尔菲娜向前扑倒，发出粗俗的笑声。她的上半身猛地扑向桌子，双手紧紧抓住边缘以保持平衡。她坐在那里摇晃着，一种巨大而广泛的娱乐。大卫·费里很惊讶。他不知道自己说了什么有趣的话。他觉得这句话很忧郁，很悲伤地富有哲理，只是一个为一个漫无目的的下午而随口说的台词。不过，这并不是德尔菲娜第一次对他说的话有如此强烈的反应。她认为他最温和的幽默话语都自动地令人发指。她有两种笑声。一种是下流、粗俗和放纵的，这是对费里性身份的必要世俗反应，她有一种肛门知识的感觉，这种感觉影响了他幽默的来源。另一种是对班尼斯特的更柔和的笑声，沙哑、会心、渴望被引导，声音中充满了默契，有一些低语的地方，一种你听到就知道他们是恋人的笑声。
一个车库是什么样子的，钱是什么样子的，在新奥尔良一个充满阴谋的星期天是什么感觉：
星期天，街道空无一人，车库也关着，在放下的格栅里面看起来像一座废弃的西班牙教堂，光线透过高高的布满灰尘的窗户洒进来。这就是他遇见特工贝特曼的地方，贝特曼有办公室的钥匙。他们穿过办公室，坐在为特勤局和联邦调查局预留的一辆车里。他告诉贝特曼他在544营地学到的东西，但并没有什么了不起的。他想用米诺克斯相机，但贝特曼说不，不，不，不。他给了李一个白色信封，里面装着一些皱巴巴的钞票，就像孩子们攒的钱一样。
“就像孩子们攒的钱一样”——这些都是偶然的时刻，几乎是信手拈来的。但正如伍尔夫也认为的那样，小说的基本单位不是句子，而是章节。引用无法传达小说的长节奏，一种断断续续的膨胀，德里罗那小小的意象派/立体派打字机段落的嗒嗒声，通过一系列的前进和后退逐渐达到高潮。《天秤座》在这方面也很出色，当然，这要归功于历史。考虑到主题，这本书也许与古典悲剧有更多的共同之处——命中注定的英雄、被杀害的领袖、隐藏的知识、权威而震惊的合唱——比大多数现代小说都要多，但到了最后六十页左右，它正因为一切都汇聚在一起而发出轰鸣声，甚至包括那些没有计划到的事情，有一种只有虚构叙事才能以任何类似尊严的方式处理的神秘感，因为所有的小说，与所有的阴谋和阴谋论不同，都处于讽刺的拯救标志之下，即真与不真的标志，感觉是这样又似乎是那样的标志，卢卡奇在进入历史和俄罗斯之前所说的最高自由的标志，在一个被上帝抛弃的世界里：
事情就是这样，那个夏天就是这样。有一天，他在用煎饼铲追蟑螂，把它们拍扁——就是那种总是在打折的柔软塑料铲。他失业了。他们解雇他是因为他不干活，这似乎很合理。暴风雨震撼着城市。他们在密西西比州杰克逊枪杀了全国有色人种协进会的外地秘书梅德加·埃弗斯。后来，他们在伯明翰炸毁了第十六街浸信会教堂，四名黑人女孩死亡，二十三人受伤。有一天，他在厨房里追捕蟑螂，没刮胡子，穿着一周没换的衣服。第二天，他穿着一套笨拙的俄罗斯西装，打着窄领带，旁边放着活页笔记本，在WDSU的另一个公共事务节目《自由交谈》上进行电台辩论。这一次，他们事先做了调查，准备了关于俄罗斯和他叛逃的问题，让他大吃一惊。他在操作毛瑟枪的枪栓。他在清洗毛瑟枪。不管他们是谁，他们都对他有计划。夜晚有热闪电。很容易相信他们已经监视他多年了，在他周围策划着一切，知道时机总会到来。
我当然可以批评《天秤座》的一些元素。我认为有几个阴谋者太多了，到最后，甚至德里罗似乎也对明确区分帕门特和埃弗雷特、弗兰克、雷莫和韦恩失去了兴趣。我怀疑，尽管显然无法证明，这部小说最初有一个类似《地下世界》的野心，即描绘肯尼迪时代的美国，但奥斯瓦尔德的悲剧变得比剖析美国更加宏大和引人入胜；有时，我认为阴谋的材料可以有用地归到围绕奥斯瓦尔德故事的书端序幕和尾声中，无论德里罗会牺牲多少来之不易的研究成果，我们会错过多少令人惊叹的散文。但即使是对这样一部在我有生之年写成的优秀小说抱怨似乎也是忘恩负义的，它的角色从现实世界中被拯救出来，并在艺术中得以生存，杰克·鲁比和玛格丽特·奥斯瓦尔德，它对动荡的被排斥的美国的描绘，远离纽约和华盛顿，远离左右翼，有黑人、古巴人、天主教徒和犹太人，一种真正的多样性在今天那些由冷酷无情的官僚机构所梦想的对“多样性”的赞美中被贬低了。我会毫不犹豫地将《天秤座》列入关于暗杀、启示录、讽刺、怀疑主义和国家或次国家史诗的伟大作品之列，与《麦克白》《恶魔》《秘密特工》《在火山下》和《隐形人》并列，以及所有那些不要将地图误认为领土的伟大警告。轮回（遇见他的长枪）是一种真实的直觉——德里罗可以让我们感觉我们就是奥斯瓦尔德，博尔赫斯的子弹现在似乎无处不在化身——但这是艺术家的合适素材，艺术家是唯一负责任的真理讲述者，是那个承认这一切都是谎言的人。我愿意放弃这部小说，让奥斯瓦尔德忘记历史，去写那些短篇小说，但我需要这部小说才能知道这一点。

A conspiracy is the polar opposite of ordinary life. It is the inner game, cold, certain, unfocused, and forever inaccessible to us. We are the flawed, the innocent, attempting to make some rough sense of the daily hustle and bustle. Conspirators possess a logic and boldness that is beyond our comprehension.

I can hardly recall the year 1991. There were a series of missteps from which I was slowly and then suddenly recovering. I also went to see the film JFK with my best friend Joel. It was either before or after that Joel purchased a hefty stack of documents from a self-proclaimed researcher and analyst from Texas. The documents shifted the blame for the Kennedy Assassination from the Cuba/Mafia connection to the corridors of power in the Beltway. There was an excitement in the audacity of that theory. I was in awe and then a bit afraid. Shortly after that, I read Umberto Eco and such matters became more of an intellectual exercise than a means of understanding history and the world. I outgrew it.

I believe, like much else, I simply became agnostic.

I had thus been hesitant for over twenty years to read Libra. I was probably wrong. I'm glad I finally did.

DeLillo has never been my favorite novelist, but one I would read on occasion. The Names was likely my last encounter, when I was first infected back in 2020. I liked that one for the same reasons I loved this: Libra discovers the sublime in the collection of data, the unwieldy and the coincidental lapse into meter and refrain, with no need for the authorial push. DeLillo finds the audit a sufficient flex and where there's silence, there's a secret.