4 ms·
I couldn’t get into Libra at all, but I couldn’t put down American Tabloid. Maybe I should give Libra another shot.
by cnasc 7y ago
I couldn’t get into Libra at all, but I couldn’t put down American Tabloid. Maybe I should give Libra another shot.
- defen 7y agoI read American Tabloid first and then Libra after learning that Ellroy cited it as a spiritual inspiration. I also enjoyed American Tabloid more. Libra is a character study of Oswald and a piece of post-modern fiction (about as much as I can say without spoiling things). Tabloid is more straightforward in terms of literary techniques, the plot is more compelling, and in my opinion bigger in scope - it tries to look at the whole system that would bring such an assassination to fruition (meaning, America itself). More than any book I've read it captures a "dark" vision of America - one driven primarily by violence, racism, greed, paranoia, hypocrisy, and corruption. It's got everything - Hollywood, the mob, CIA, FBI, Hoover, Hughes, Hoffa, Vegas, the Kennedys, Cubans, the Klan, and more - and yet it doesn't feel overstuffed. Definitely one of my favorite books.