Tree of Smoke: A Novel

Tree of Smoke: A Novel
by Denis Johnson

Tree of Smoke: A Novel
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Book Summary Information

Author: Denis Johnson
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-02
ISBN: 0312427743
Number of pages: 720
Publisher: Picador

Book Reviews of Tree of Smoke: A Novel

Book Review: Amazing work
Summary: 5 Stars

I can understand it's not for everyone, because there is no more a cohesive story line than the Vietnam War itself had. That's the point, imo. It's a dark book about a dark time, and Johnson goes right to the dark hearts of his characters without any preamble -- they're not "cardboard" or "wooden" -- they're in a *war* and their best and most complex selves are not in evidence. Does war permit character development in actual soldiers and other operatives? It pares them down and destroys them more commonly, not only because one's best self is a burden in such weird and dangerous circumstances. People live and die, and kill, by sheer guesswork which is often wrong. They are saved, or killed, because of the mistakes of others, both intentional and careless. I think Johnson captures not only the folly of government actions, but the screwed up, alcoholic hearts of his characters, who are soldiers and soldier wannabes, failed soldiers and has-beens with real glory in their pasts. Instead of the typical "what happens" of a story, Johnson gives us insight into what these people are thinking. What is the thinking that propels the activities of war? There are a lot of big ideas in this book. Ideas about war, about different cultures, about government hubris and individual pride, stupidity, and need, about love and loss and religious faith and alcoholism. One thing about most of Johnson's work: if you have any curiosity about alcohol abuse or drug abuse, if you've ever wondered how addicts think, it's all there. The denial, the good intentions, the utter failure of the will, the cockeyed "planning" for the future, the misconceptions and bad judgment. He's a national treasure, and it's a big book. But, not for everyone. It benefits from at least a passing familiarity with the facts of the Vietnam War, which, sadly, not everyone has. Also, lots of people and things die in this book. If you don't like the dark, read something else. If you want another novel that takes a look at the CIA and its screwups, try The Company.

Summary of Tree of Smoke: A Novel

Tree of Smoke is the 2007 National Book Award Winner for Fiction.

One of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year


Named a Best Book of the Year by Time, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Amazon.com, Salon, Slate, The National Book Critics Circle, The Christian Science Monitor. . . .

Tree of Smoke is the story of William "Skip" Sands, CIA--engaged in Pschological Operations against the Vietcong--and the disasters that befall him. It is also the story of the Houston brothers, Bill and James, young men who drift out of the Arizona desert and into a war where the line between disinformation and delusion has blurred away. In the words of Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times, Tree of Smoke is "bound to become one of the classic works of literature produced by that tragic and uncannily familiar war."


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

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