Don Delillo does not facilitate the reader's task. The text is dense, and according to the characters, the story is far from linear chronologically; it takes time to adapt. Then, I regularly have trouble with some of his dialogues that I would describe as enigmatic. A Don Delillo has to be earning! Does this mean you must know the JFK case well to appreciate Libra? I don't think it's an obligation, but it will clarify the reading and increase the pleasure you get from it; so much for the negatives.
Once well hung, we turn the pages without realizing it. The decisive point is the magnificent portrait of Lee Harvey Oswald developed by Don. This antihero will systematically miss out on his life without controlling or understanding the scope of his actions or encounters. This book is not yet another version of what could have happened on November 22. Still, it is more of a series of captivating portraits of the various, more or less direct actors in the plot, to conclude in a thriller, the final scenes of the assassination being a pure marvel of writing. Beyond the raw facts, we appropriate the context, the elements, and the feelings of the protagonists.
It's mastered to the end, so successful. Very heavy.

три чи чотири - головне питання роману.
якщо три - то нецікаво, то Лі Гарві Освальд і все.
якщо чотири - то цікаво і є не лише ЛГО.
хоч, може, п'ять. бо історія - то темна справа.
Америка, не спромігшись убити Кастро, вирішила вбити Кеннеді, але хотіла схибити. Проте схибити їй не дали.
Поліфонійне бачення історії - це те, що пізніше Делілло майстерно вивершить у "Підземному світі", довівши до межі і свої сили, адже дотепер не пише нічого складного і багатотонального.
Тут цікаво, як усі ці факти та збіги призводять до одного вбиства, коли ЦРУ керується фразою заледве не ахматової "из какого сора" - "Ми зліпимо людину чи декілька зі сміття, що лишилося в кишенях". І вигадка стає дійсністю.
Безліч персонажів, весело про Росію й Білорусь, подеколи надто словоблудно. Зрештою, як і сама історія. Три-чотири. Чи таки п'ять пострілів?

Libra is a conspiratorial thriller in which Lee Harvey Oswald is hired by a bunch of ex-CIA spooks with business interests in Cuba to botch up the Kennedy assassination. They hope that the assassination attempt would lead to the US declaring war on Cuba. It is not just any ordinary spy thriller. It is a thriller by a great writer who has interesting views on technology and media and their impact on human nature. I was constantly thinking about Norman Mailer's Harlot's Ghost while reading Libra. Libra might not have as big a scope as Mailer's novel but I really enjoyed reading DeLillo's mumbo jumbo (not used as a pejorative) about spooks and how they create enemies.

DeLillo's writing style is interesting. A third person narration would suddenly shift to the inner conversation of the character. This style is used a lot during the first few chapters about Oswald's teenage awareness and his perpetual feeling of being the other. And it is used extensively for Oswald's mother Marguerite. I also enjoyed DeLillo's cinematic description of the Kennedy assassination. It was breathtaking and might have inspired the assassination sequence in Oliver Stone's JFK.

I was not really drawn to any of the characters as I am not a person with strong political convictions. But I found myself sympathizing with both Oswald and Ruby. In the novel, they are both passionate and stupid men who are used by the powers that be to achieve their devious ends. I think DeLillo was saying that these men were driven by forces beyond their control. According to Marx - "It is not the consciousness of man that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness’, and so creates the idea that history is being driven by man, however, it is their social class that determines the history they drive."

No he conseguido conectar con el libro. La lectura se me ha hecho pesada.
Aunque el tema está tratado desde un punto de vista original, el estilo narrativo no me ha transmitido emociones. Una redacción muy fría. Y cuando entra en digresiones y pensamientos de los personajes aún es peor porqué la lectura se hace lenta y tediosa.
Reconozco que es una lección interesante para quién le guste indagar en los hechos que rodearon el asesinato de JFK. A mi, personalmente, me gustan estas teorías conspiratorias y por eso me animé con esta novela.

I haven't managed to connect with the book. The reading has become heavy.
Although the subject is treated from an original point of view, the narrative style has not transmitted emotions to me. Very cold wording. And when the author gets into digressions and thoughts of the characters it's even worse because the reading gets slow and tedious.
I admit that this is an interesting lesson for anyone who likes to investigate the facts surrounding JFK's murder. I personally like these conspiracy theories and that's why I got motivated about this novel.

https://youtu.be/4BxUwzQ4IVU

Oh yes, this one hit the spot alright, after a couple of disappointing reads prior.

I've always regarded DeLillo as a bit of a hit and miss writer, who can be sloppy in one novel and quite brilliant in another. When he does hit top form though: which I believe he absolutely does here, it's such a rewarding reading experience.

Apart from knowing that Oswald shot JFK then got whacked two days later by Jack Ruby, my knowledge on the whole history leading up to, arguably, the mother of all assassinations, was practically zilch. So, taking that into account, I had no idea what was solely fiction or half-speculation, and what was based more along the lines of fact. He's obviously taken a lot of stale research material and weaved together something altogether new - largely by the means of simply inventing - filling in the blanks so to speak. DeLillo has: from I've read of him anyway, had a keen eye for conspiracy, and his fascination with this theme goes into overdrive here - no doubt about it. This also had a genuinely feeling of slow-building dread: despite the fact you know what's going to happen, all the way through it, and had me thinking: although completely different novels, of 'The Names', which happens to be one of my DeLillo faves. Well, now I have another.

In particular I was fascinated by the whole Castro angle of the novel, and also Oswald's time spent in Russia - where he was to meet his wife. From the brilliant interior monologues, to the richly constructed scenes involving a whole array of other characters, this labyrinthine underworld of a novel was simply top notch, and due to the way the plot is structured, probably DeLillo's most complex work at the time.

It's a five for me.

This novel is Don DeLillo's reinvention of the events that led to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on 22 November 1963 in Dallas and on the epicenter of the American author's magnum opus is none other than the obscure figure of Lee Harvey Oswald, a young man who couldn't settle anywhere and for him nowhere felt like home. Oswald was a drifter, a man who lived in transcience and after enlisting to the U.S. Marines, he got dishonorably discharged and put all his well-meaning faith in the deterrent power of the USSR, the great enemy, the Communist state that promised a totally different way of life that put the emphasis on the people and the masses rather than the individual. Oswald defected to Russia after his service and because of his experience as an ex-Marine and a specialist in radio communications, the KGB thought that he could be a valuable asset to the regime as he held some classified information about a number of military operations and new technology spy aircrafts. Nevertheless, Lee soon got disillusioned from life in the authoritarian Soviet Union and decided to return to his hometown even though he didn't quite feel that he belonged there either. For many years, during Oswald's youth, he used to read socialist literature and left-wing political theory that made him hate the American way of life and that was the reason why he chose to try his luck in faraway Russia. The communist teachings had a profound effect on young Lee who aspired to become a part of the various struggles of the socio-economical interplay, thus becoming part of history itself.

To read my full review, visit https://tapthelinemag.com/post/libra

I take it this book is quite intriguing; however, I cannot stand this author. I have a handful of authors that belong on my "good lord I hate all of your books" authors list , and this guy is one of them. I thought maybe this book would change my mind because of the subject matter but no. I wonder though if his books are just unfortunate to have bad narrators? I still have the feeling I just would not enjoy his writing. The good news is this was his last on my THE LISTS challenge so I'm so excited about that

DeLillo analiza el asesinato de Kennedy desde el enigma Oswald, un ser destinado a encontrarse con la Historia y desaparecer justo cuando había dejado de ser insignificante. Excesiva, paranoica, brillante, 'Libra' es una exhibición siempre a punto del delirio.

“There is a world inside the world”

DeLillo is the quintessential American writer of the latter part of the 20th century. While I may personally prefer Pynchon and later Wallace, their esotericism makes it tricky to recommend their work to a more casual reader. Don, on the other hand, is a towering literary mind who is challenging, yet accessible, and, whereas Underworld is an intimidating, sprawling tome, Libra is the book of his that I’d recommend to any- and everyone.

A meditation on predestination, coincidence, conspiracy, born losers and chance winners (or, more accurately, chance not-losers), Libra is much more than the fictional evocation of Oswald’s life and the myriad possible/probable plots to assassinate JFK; it is a story about the failing of a life, and I think the real postulation happens here. Who failed Oswald? The world? His mother? Himself? Was he a bit of a dullard? Or perhaps some kind of confused savant? When we look at the title of the book, the true main theme is revealed: balance. Oswald was bound to tip the scales one way or another, and I believe it was simply a matter of freakish fate that brought him to the side of life’s teeter-totter he was planted down upon. His passivity and fervor were equally profound: an (un)stable equilibrium. A true Libran.

I've decided to give up on this one and condemn it to the dreaded one star. I don't get on with DeLillo, and it was probably a mistake to start it in the first place. I didn't get very far into it, but quickly tired of the disjointed sentences and jumpy rhythm. But worst of all was the terrible narration of this audiobook.

Somewhere along the line I got this notion in my head that DeLillo wasn't for me. I have no idea how that got lodged in my head, but it could not be more wrong. This is only my second of his works (after being quite delighted with White Noise), but between his subject matter (the American zeitgeist) and his writing style (dark, funny, smart, biting, while somehow being lyrical), I think I might be hooked. Some of his passages are simply enjoyable on their own:

The faintly musty smell, the coolness of the small room, the familiar labels on jars and cans made him feel like an ancient and tired child, someone allowed to relive the simplest, the deepest times, moments that left a scar on the heart---not an evidence of some detailed pain but only of time itself, systemic, heavy with loss.

In Libra he tells the tale of how Lee Harvey Oswald came to shoot JFK in 1963. It's told in the type of "jump cut" style more common to film. Within chapters, DeLillo shifts to different characters/locations or moves forward/backward in time, adding to what is an overwhelming, disorienting feeling of being caught up in forces that even those supposedly pulling the international strings don't fully comprehend nor control. His is not so much a theory of what actually happened as a tale with closure served up as a kind of dressing to cover this historical wound.
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WORDS I LEARNED WHILE READING THIS BOOK
prelapsarian | panatela | shvartzer