By: Denis Johnson Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 624 Publication Date: September 04, 2007 Release Date: September 04, 2007
Amazon.com: Amazon Significant Seven, September 2007: Denis Johnson is one of those few great hopes of American writing, fully capable of pulling out a ground-changing masterpiece, as he did in 1992 with the now-legendary collection, Jesus' Son. Tree of Smoke showed every sign of being his "big book": 600+ pages, years in the making, with a grand subject (the Vietnam War). And in the reading it lives up to every promise. It's crowded with the desperate people, always short of salvation, who are Johnson's specialty, but despite every temptation of the Vietnam dreamscape it is relentlessly sober in its attention to on-the-ground details and the gradations of psychology. Not one of its 614 pages lacks a sentence or an observation that could set you back on your heels. This is the book Johnson fans have been waiting for--along with everybody else, whether they knew it or not. --Tom Nissley
Product Description:
Once upon a time there was a war . . . and a young American who thought of himself as the Quiet American and the Ugly American, and who wished to be neither, who wanted instead to be the Wise American, or the Good American, but who eventually came to witness himself as the Real American and finally as simply the Fucking American. That’s me.
This is the story of Skip Sands—spy-in-training, engaged in Psychological Operations against the Vietcong—and the disasters that befall him thanks to his famous uncle, a war hero known in intelligence circles simply as the Colonel. This is also the story of the Houston brothers, Bill and James, young men who drift out of the Arizona desert into a war in which the line between disinformation and delusion has blurred away. In its vision of human folly, and its gritty, sympathetic portraits of men and women desperate for an end to their loneliness, whether in sex or death or by the grace of God, this is a story like nothing in our literature.
Tree of Smoke is Denis Johnson’s first full-length novel in nine years, and his most gripping, beautiful, and powerful work to date.
Denis Johnson's latest book was worth the long wait. Tree of Smoke is a modern day version of Heart of Darkness and Denis Johnson is the closest thing we have to Joseph Conrad.
A monumental book. . . Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson is a masterpiece. This book provides more evidence that Johnson is one of the greatest writers at work today. Tree of Smoke captures the utter devastation of war. No one wins in war, and Denis Johnson has done a good job of portraying that in Tree of Smoke. Don't let the size of this book deter you from reading it, it is a fast read filled with great imagery and detail. Tree of Smoke is a must read for anyone who is interested in the Vietnam War. In all reality it is a must read for anyone who enjoys great books. Tree of Smoke is one of my all time favorite books. Thank you Mr. Johnson for writing a book worth my money and time.
Haunting, moving, and evocative Those who bought this book expecting a "Vietnam book" were perhaps disappointed. Those of us who expected a haunting and penetrating psychological portrayal of a time, a country (or two), and a fascinating set of characters were richly rewarded. Yes, this book is slow, and contemplative, and wanders into theology. And yes, this book is very, very good.
High Novelistic Ambition Tree of Smoke is a strongly written novel with only minor, forgivable flaws. Johnson has great skill in crafting believable, multi-faceted characters and knows the Vietnam era with intimate knowledge. Structurally, the novel is swift and tense, dense with action and drama. Johnson does juggle many characters about, and this dilutes, somewhat, the novel's impact. The plot also suffers from this overcrowding, losing some of its clarity along the way. But ultimately this novel is redeemed by the high quality of Johnson's prose. For 614 pages he maintains a high standard of precision on the level of word choice and sentence structure, an amazing accomplishment for a novel of such high, sustained ambition.
are you kidding--this is whopping wonderful What a book--what a trip. How could anyone retell the personal horror of Vietnam without resorting to some kind of judgment, some kind of distancing "who were these crazy folks?" Johnson is "these crazy folks" and so are we readers as this psychodelic story twists and turns toward destruction/salvation. So ambitious, so beautifully written, so full of humanity and inhumanity. I'm still reeling, wondering why this long book ever had to end. Gosh, this is one hell of a story...
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