Flying in to Love [Paperback]

D.M. Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Golden Library | Publication Date: April 1995

A speculative reconstruction of the Kennedy assassination interweaves fact and fiction to explore and challenge the leading conspiracy theories. By the author of The White Hotel. 17,500 first printing.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of The White Hotel , whose subsequent books have been somewhat disappointing, is back on form in this dreamlike evocation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Poetic and often daring in its associative leaps, it is a long way from the only comparable fictional treatment, Don DeLillo's hard-edged Libra. That was a far more convincing book, but Thomas hardly wants to convince. Instead, he is trying to recreate those days in Dallas as a kind of myth that forms the substance of several women's dreams, among them a nun Kennedy spoke to on the fateful day, a writer obsessed for a lifetime by what happened. He is also imagining, fiercely, what might have happened if the conspirators had been caught before firing the fatal shots: he even creates scenes on the night of November 22, 1963 in which the President is still alive. He also plays with Oswald and Tippit (the slain policeman) and, in a bizarre scene on the plane back to Washington, shows us Johnson implicitly admitting to a conspiracy to JFK aide Kenny O'Donnell. The complexity is richly astonishing, and Thomas manages to sustain remarkable tension with this thrice-familiar material. Some readers will find references to JFK's sexual escapades distasteful, and others may feel that Thomas has too recklessly taken poetic license; but few will fail to be mesmerized yet again by a profoundly imaginative reconstruction of one of the events that has in some way shaped all of us.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The tragic events of November 22, 1963 provide the backdrop for this intriguing novel by the author of The White Hotel ( LJ 2/1/81). Thomas's interest, however, goes far beyond the mere facts to an exploration of the creation of myth and its impact on individual lives. Indeed, as one of his characters writes, the fact that "all theories of what happened in Dealy Plaza seem unbelievable, whether they posit a single assassin or a conspiracy," only backs up his suggestion that the event was mythic. Within this context, we encounter all the major players and many minor ones (some factual, some fictional) as they relive the day. Thomas even considers what might have happenend had the assassination not occurred. The portraits that emerge are vivid and intensely human. Kennedy, in particular, is seen as neither saint nor sinner but as a complex individual driven by powerful appetites. This book is likely to be a big if not best seller and should unquestionably be acquired by all public and most academic libraries.
- David W. Henderson, Eckerd Coll. Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub; First Thus. edition (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078670182X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786701827
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,604,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT BOOK; DO NOT LISTEN TO KIRKUS, June 22, 2000

By 

Kathleen Lawton-Trask "Reader, Writer, Knitte... (Alexandria, Va., United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flying in to Love (Paperback)

I must agree with the other reader who insisted you ignore the Kirkus review. I found this book to be incredibly moving and fascinating in its exploration, not of various conspiracy theories (as the Kirkus reviewer wrongly says), but of the different ways the Kennedy assasination myth affects Americans, even those of us who were not alive when it happened.

2.0 out of 5 stars Good writing, uncomfortable content, June 6, 2007

By 

J. Rosenberg "reggieroy" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flying in to Love (Paperback)

While I appreciated Thomas's writing ability and the interesting organization of this book, I felt very uncomfortable with the sexual content. I'm not a prude, but I squirmed reading "Kennedy's" puerile thoughts about the private parts of every woman he saw. And the nuns! Don't even ask. Lyndon Johnson was particularly sleazy.

It seemed like Thomas read a lot of books on the Kennedy White House and the assassination, and then just cobbled together the aspects he found interesting.

Fortunately, this book was short and fast reading. I wasn't bored, but I didn't like it.

5.0 out of 5 stars FLYING INTO LOVE is nothing less then brilliant! This needs to be movie, February 20, 2006

By 

Chris Raymond "book addict anonymus" (Los Angeles, CA 90046) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flying in to Love (Paperback)

This is by far one of the best books I have ever read, along with THE WHITE HOTEL, Kundera's THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING and IMMORTALITY, this is an astounding blend of the real, the imagine and what might have been. Only professional jealously would cause the KIRKUS to offer such a negative view. Though I have to admit that the European editions are much better thant the American editions it seems a U.S. editor took free license with edits in preparing the US edition.

This beautiful lyrical novel would make a phenomenal film. Destined to become a classic..