The first thing I thought to myself after reading the first portion of Libra is wow, there really are so many different methods of writing historical fiction. We have really seen an incredibly wide array of writing styles from just five different books. Ragtime started us off easy with a nice, predictable history book narration. Mumbo Jumbo went the exact opposite way and had the author give little notes every now and then signed by him; but wasn't everything in that novel written by him? Slaughterhouse-five was written by an author who discussed the book that he was writing as a failure in the very book that we were reading. Kindred was more similar to Slaughterhouse-five than any of the other books in that it involves time travel but didn't really riff on any historical figures; rather a historical time frame. Finally we have come to Libra. A book that is much more different than any of the others that we have read.
Libra's main characters are actual historical people; the main one being a name that is associated with the most mysterious murder in U.S. history. And the detail the book presents is almost too much. If I am being honest, I am having a few problems with completely comprehending the reading sections. It is not that the reading is too long each night, it is just that every page is extremely information rich. The pages I am referring to of course are the ones that involve the CIA agents. Often times I find myself lost in who is saying what, and having to go back and re-read the section just to make sure.
I have always been interested in the Kennedy assassination from a young age just because of the mystery surrounding it. I look forward to what clarity Libra has to offer on the situation.
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