Author : D.M. Thomas
What is it about : This work of fiction combined the likely facts, populist myths and the author's liberal imagination to generate one helluva of a story of the events before and after the assassination of JFK. JFK the visionary, the womaniser, the politician were all on show here in amongst the hangers-on, the compliant wife, the president-in-waiting (LBJ) and the layman's view from the crowd - the standpoint of a nun. The book did not attempt to present a.n.o.t.h.e.r. conspiracy theory, but more a fictional dissection of the characters involved. BTW, the "Love" in the title referred to the airfield in Dallas, Love Fields, where JFK landed for his fateful visit.
Some thoughts after having read the book : The book threw me off from the word go when apparently JFK passed through downtown Dallas without a shot being fired ! This part of the book soon turned out to be "the alternative" which many at the time had hoped and dreamt - a way or a sense of denial of the inevitable tragedy which we knew too well. The book spared no blushes in describing JFK's rampant sexual desire where every dame was game and LBJ was depicted a suave political animal as the winner who took all. The author demonstrated a deft hand in mixing apparently known fact, popular myths and other old wives' tales, as in his other works (check out The White Hotel); and the readers were taken on board a fast and furious ride through the unfolding events, often from a fly-on-the-wall perspective.
Would I recommend this book to you : Absolutely YES ! The readers would gain an intimacy with the fictitious, half-truth characters and their lives at the end of the book. I found immense satisfaction in "knowing" that "an alternative" was out there where these famous peoples resided. But if you had all along worshiped the central characters (JFK, LBJ, Jackie et al), beware, you might find the book did cut them down in size, just a bit.
