Tree of Smoke: A Novel by Denis Johnson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Tree of Smoke: A Novel
Book Review: Nothing happened
Summary: 1 Stars
I tried to read this, I really did. After 200 pages nothing had happened, nothing. No action, no characters, no writing, no nothing. Book Review: great disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
i was very excited when i bought this book- vietnam war, cia, espionage. plus johnson had a rep as a good writer.
but honestly this book was horrible-
i cant even finish it - im on page 500 and i STILL dont know what the point of the book is .
the characters are totally one dimensional- or as in the case of the double agent Trung.. totally unbelieveable. (wrong mind in the wrong body )
and every so often some real lame philosophical discussions take place.
very dissapointing indeed.
want to see how a great war book is done. read Mailers- the naked and the dead or Alls quiet on the western front - this book is crap
Book Review: Perplexing reviews at Amazon
Summary: 5 Stars
Normally the average Amazon customer rating on a book matters to me lots and I am quicker to read the customer reviews than editorial reviews. But the relatively negative reaction to Tree of Smoke has left me perplexed. I've seen far far less powerful less well-written books get far better ratings.
I found Tree of Smoke extraordinary. To me it was a book that included unique, compelling characters; an exciting plot line (albeit certainly far from easy to understand); and outstanding writing used to describe generally terrible circumstances. I agree with reviewers suggesting the book reminds them of Heart of Darkness and Catch 22 - and believe it does so with remarkable originality and beauty
I think perhaps what made this book unappealing to many made it great literature and worthy of National Book award for me. There is no clear "hero" to the story and if there are any heroes (eg the Colonel??; the Houston brothers?? Skip Sands??) they are all really far from being your "prince charming types" (i.e all heavy boozers; all at rim of law etc). There is also no "happy ending". What there is is relentless tension from beginning to end, told from perspective of characters that remind me of what folks that were in Vietnam might actually have been thinking
I urge readers to try Tree of Smoke, but enjoying it requires tackling it with a "i am reading a complex allegory" mindset, not a "great summer read"
Book Review: Ponderous, pointless bore
Summary: 1 Stars
I see this book is on Amazon's suggested summer reading list, and must warn innocents: don't buy it! Your summer will be gone with nothing to show for it. The story moves slooooowwwwwly and is boring to boot. Do yourself a favor: read a few pages before you buy; you can tell right away. It's only the third book I gave up on (Ship of Fools was first, then Walden). Save yourself.Book Review: Another overrated National Book Award winner
Summary: 2 Stars
I had so looked forward to reading this book. Several novels concerning Vietnam are among my favorites. James Webb's Fields of Fire, Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato and John M. Delvecchio's The Last Valley are superior works of fiction. I had read D. Johnson's books before and found them neither riveting nor memorable in any way. But with all of the hoopla surrounding its release, I was ready for something special. It started off that way. For the first half of the book, around 300 pages, I liked what I read even though I wasn't working up much interest in the characters, and the book is probably two thirds dialog, and not particularly revealing dialog either. By the time I neared the end I no longer cared about either the story or the characters. I stopped with 30 pages left,with absolutely no curiosity about how it ended because my enthusiasm had departed many, many pages before. Again, the National Book Award had been given to a book that I felt to be thoroughly undeserving, murky, unfocused and oh so ponderous, like an overblown Mahler symphony. Anyone ever tried to read The News From Paraguay by Lili Tuck, another NBA winner? Spare yourself. At least that book was short. This one just went on and on and on, draining every last bit of interest the further on it went. This was no literary Apocalypse Now. But as I neared the end I experienced Apathy Now.