to the status of fact, and suppresses events which might perturb the
status quo.
The novel Libra (DeLillo 1989) is a rewriting of the assassination of US
President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The death of JFK is, in some respects, a
special case. It is one of the most well-known events in media history: most
people who read the book will have seen the media replays, and may have
their own personal theories about what actually happened. There have also
always been alternative theories about the assassination which have com-
peted with the official version of Lee Harvey Oswald as a lone assassin and
an isolated madman in search of celebrity status. However, DeLillo’s
rewrite is an imaginative reconstruction of the events that led to the
killing, suggesting that Oswald was manipulated by both left- and right-
wing forces, and pro and anti-Castro factions. These forces played on his
delusions of grandeur, his socialist ideals, and his hope that the killing
would lead to a better life for him in Cuba. The book psychologises
Oswald, revealing both his sympathetic and darker sides, humanising
but not glorifying him. Oswald is shown to be a product of a capitalist,
imperialist society which ignores its poor and mercilessly punishes
non-conformists. DeLillo steers a convincing ‘frictional’ course between
the official version of events, and some of the more extreme conspiracy
theories that surrounded it.
In British writer Julian Barnes’s A History of the World in 10^1 ⁄ 2 Chapters
(1990), the first chapter rewrites the story of Noah’s flood from the point
of view of a woodworm who was a stowaway on the boat (though the
worm’s identity is not revealed until the last page). It exposes the story of
the ark as a myth built up to bolster the reputations of both God and
Noah, and disputes the bible’s claims on truth and morality. This rewrite
is highly politicised: power struggles abide between Noah and the animals.
Noah himself is shown to be extremely exploitative, an unprepossessing
bully. According to the woodworm, he is the dictator of a repressive, unde-
mocratic regime: in the ark there were ‘punishments and isolation cells’.
But God is also shown to be extremely divisive, since there were much less
favourable conditions for those animals categorised as ‘unclean’ rather
than ‘clean’. The woodworm’s point of view inverts many socially accepted
ethical hierarchies: he sees animals as superior to humans. For him the
animal kingdom, unlike the human kingdom, is built on ideals of equality
and decency. Humans are treacherous towards animals, and continually
use them as scapegoats.
Like many rewrites, the story superimposes a contemporary perspective
on a historical scenario: the woodworm refers to smear campaigns and
isolation cells. It brings aspects of the story up to date, while retaining
some vestiges of a historical setting.
Postmodern f(r)ictions 145