Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery
by Norman Mailer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Norman MailerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-01-23
ISBN: 0345404378
Number of pages: 848
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Reviews of Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery
Book Review: A Vivid, But Disjointed Mosaic
Summary: 3 Stars
The Amazon reviewer above describes this book as a "vivid mosaic", which it is. I guess I just don't "get" the mosaic style of writing when it comes to a work of non-fiction. Mosaic, by nature, means "disjointed", and it is all at once disconcerting, confusing, and rather boring to try to digest a historical work in hodge-podge form. There is no question that Mailer did his homework on "Oswald's Tale". But the same story was related in logical and linear fashion in Priscilla Johnson McMillan's "Marina & Lee"... even in Edward Jay Epstein's "Legend: The Secret Life Of Lee Harvey Oswald".
Why is it that authors, artists, and TV producers today feel that they have to cater to the attention deficit disorder set, rather than presenting their work in packages of proper grammar, chronological sequence, and comprehensible form? Mailer's work is the product of probably the most meticulous research yet carried out on Oswald's life, yet is presented in a so-called "artistic" style better suited to a sci-fi novel, a style that makes this work of non-fiction quite the pain-in-the-ass to read and digest.
Now, having skewered Mailer's account of Lee & Marina, I have to give him credit where credit is due (which is also why I clicked 3 stars instead of 1 or 2):
I have been a 110% skeptic on the endless moonbeam conspiracy theories on the JFK assassination, yet the George DeMorenschildt connection has always raised a big, red flag in my mind. I know that Oswald acted alone in the assassination, without influence from the CIA, FBI, Mafia, Cuba, Russia, Lyndon Johnson, Jack Ruby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, extraterrestrials, Clay Shaw, Richard Nixon, Woody Harrelson's dad, etc. BUT, after reading Mailer's book, I'm not so sure Oswald wasn't acting on, perhaps, a dare from DeMorenschildt.
Hmmmmm.
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