In my teens, I had a pretty strong obsession about the JFK assassination. It wasn't long after Oliver Stone's JFK was released which lead to a multi-year focus learning as much as I could about this supposed conspiracy. Late last year was the 30th anniversary of this dynamic, crazed, and fascinating movie. I was listening to a podcast last week which was reminiscing about the JFK movie and one of the guests mentioned that American Tabloid was a great read in connection with the movie. While I had heard of James Ellroy, I had not read any of his books, so I gave it a shot.
For the most part, the book was well worth the read. As I don't think it's the most popular book (I had to use inter-library loan to actually get from the library!). The book is a fictional account of the five years leading up to the JFK assassination and is based on many real events and real people (though the three main characters are fictional and an amalgamation of two or three people). While the book ends with the assassination, it's an engaging read that is hard to put down. Not for the faint of heart, the book is violent, sexual in nature, and includes a LOT of cussing and adult situations. However, it's a pretty fascinating read, especially if you have any interest in the odd bedfellows of the CIA and mafia during time time after Fidel Castro took over in Cuba.
Like the movie JFK, it's hard to not to think that much of it is real. As, much of what was described, did take place. The challenge, of course, is to know where reality ends and fictions begins. When do real things stop taking place and Ellroy (or Stone's) imagination begins? Of course, it's very hard to tell but that's part of what makes it so interesting. If you ever want to get the backstory about Jack and Robert Kennedy, Howard Hughes, J. Edgar Hoover, and some other favorites from last century, this book will put you there.
A few things I didn't like. It is a crazy writing style. I'm not sure how to quite describe it. It's very fast, almost a staccato style. Incredibly short sentences and you can almost "hear" the noises of the many action sequences with the words/sounds he uses. The book is over 500 pages, and on some occasions, feels longer. While the pace is usually strong, there are some parts where it slows too much or, what seems like the same scene,
occurs over and over. Finally, and this is more a personal issue with the text I read, but the book I borrowed had some of the smallest font. It must have been like 8 point; made for some tough reading and headaches!
I highly recommend this book for any JFK conspirators of JFK movie lovers. If you like a good old gangster story from the 1950s/1960s, you might like this as well. If you are not in one of those groups, I have far less confidence you'll enjoy.
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