Tree of Smoke: A Novel @ richardeward.com

Tree of Smoke: A Novel
by Denis Johnson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

• The American Anabasis
  Dennis Johnson's Tree of Smoke is mythopoetic in its reach and ambition, excavating through the different levels the postwar American involvement in Asia. Johnson's narrative shifts through time, place and people as he attempts to tell an allegorical tale that mirrors the American anabasis through Asia in the 20th century. Through the haunting passion of Skip Sands and his legendary uncle the story is one of the CIA itself- the hope, dreams, pain and innocence that went into that noble war. But it is so... more info

• might not cook your goose
  I listened to a narration of this book on 18 CDs. Sometimes I was cooking, eating, or sleeping. Much of what I could say about plot details that I do remember would be out of place for those who don't want to know why their goose is already cookied before they even start reading this book. My timing on the CDs was designed to allow a return to the library in Saint Paul before it fills with peoploe who think of coming to Saint Paul like going to church.
  My most recent book purchase, Selected Writings of... more info

• What's Your Poison?
  Denis Johnson's novel is a rich, mysterious and lyrical success, but it also happens to be about war, and this creates a few problems.
  How one feels about war being used as a philosophical or literary metaphor will most likely inform his or her overall feeling about Tree of Smoke. Rather than a raw look at warfare on the ground, this novel's eye intentionally hovers slightly above the fray.
  The central protaganist, a young CIA agent named Skip, works in the world of Psychological Operations, and... more info

• A Lot of Dead Wood
  The initial pages of this book sucked me in. The scene with the monkey dying in the soldiers hands is brilliant. Unfortunately, passages of the same or similar qualities are few and far between. For me, there were too many lengthy periods where nothing much seemed to be going on. These would be followed by brief passages that were fascinating and full of energy. I wonder if this book is to the Vietnam War what "Barney Miller" was to TV cop shows. By that I mean, there's not a lot of actual war in this war... more info

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