Tree of Smoke
By Denis Johnson
- Release Date: 2007-09-04
- Genre: Literary Fiction
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 F*****g 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.
Tree of Smoke is the 2007 National Book Award Winner for Fiction.
Reviews
Tree of Smoke
1By Arkady HankoSorry, didn’t work for me. Where’s this thing going? Is there a moral conflict here? Vietnam Nam is sweaty.........and? There are six or seven main characters (all one-dimensional) and, except that they shared the same room, tent or trench at one time, their stories don’t mesh, contrast or contribute. Maybe that’s the hook. Wars make no sense, like this novel. War doesn’t make heroes. It just takes flawed individuals and throws them together in chaos where they hurt each other and become more severely flawed? “Tree of Smoke” is a metaphor for the novel itself. At first you think there’s a story here, but, no, just smoke. Never Happen.Expected much more
1By SEOhioThe individual threads were compelling but the author had no voice - felt like I was reading a sloppy history of lies told by everyone regarding the period 1950’s-1980’s.Well
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5By Dax AnonymousI have waited for years to read a book about America's Vietnam travails. This book coincides nicely with my perception of what it was like in Vietnam — not to say I was there, mind you. In any event, this book is a page turner, a marvelous read. Well written. I'm glad I wasn't there, Vietnam I mean. Some would say Vietnam wasn't like what was represented in this book, and they are probably right. This is a novel, and an entertaining novel at that!Awesome
5By lucylovittMore than it seems, a psychological operation in and of itself.
