Thursday, January 18, 2018

Ten top conspiracy theories in fiction

James Miller's new novel is UnAmerican Activities. At the Guardian, he tagged ten novels that "explore conspiracy theories both 'real' and fictional, showing how history blends with fiction and speculation can supplement fact." One entry on the list:
Libra by Don DeLillo (1988)

The image of heat and light is woven through DeLillo’s fictional account of JFK’s assassination, standing for the sheer volume of material about the event, the overwhelming, dazzling accumulation of information. At one point a character asks: “What are they holding back? How much more is there?” still searching for that final detail that will explain what happened. DeLillo’s novel dramatises the extent to which a surplus of information does not always lead to clarity or understanding.
Read about another title on the list.

Libra is among Allen Barra's five essential JFK assassination books and Joseph Finder's five best books on political conspiracy.

--Marshal Zeringue