Comments on: Tree of Smoke — Denis Johnson http://biblioklept.org/2008/09/01/tree-of-smoke-denis-johnson/ Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:38:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Ben Collins http://biblioklept.org/2008/09/01/tree-of-smoke-denis-johnson/#comment-11382 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:48:18 +0000 http://biblioklept.wordpress.com/?p=1003#comment-11382 Yeah I almost stopped reading Angels at that exact part but if you push past the book gets better. I almost had the sense that it was written linearly, given how the pace and changes so much once they get to Phoenix. It’s ultimately really good but it’s not surprising that it’s his first novel. It’s funny but I actually almost stopped reading it when it first cut to Chicago and tried to get me to believe that she’d left him in pennsylvania and then took a bus to Chicago just to wonder and find him which at the time I thought was so absurd and ridiculous.

Name of the World was really good. Both it and Jesus’ Son were each read in single afternoons. Not that it’s as amazing as Jesus’ Son but just that it isn’t one you put down for a week like Angels is. It’s built around a sort of cliche, (older lonely man has series of encounters with exciting wild younger woman) but is smartly handled and seems self-aware but that’s probably true of most of his books.

]]> By: Biblioklept http://biblioklept.org/2008/09/01/tree-of-smoke-denis-johnson/#comment-11381 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:33:29 +0000 http://biblioklept.wordpress.com/?p=1003#comment-11381 Hey Ben, nice to hear from you again.
I’m actually finishing up Angels right now–I started three weeks ago and stalled out at the rape scene. It was so ugly and cruel that I wanted to stop altogether. I started reading the book again this weekend though, and breaking through to meet some of the other characters outside of the two principals was a big help.

I’ve only read Tree, Jesus’ Son, and Nobody Move (I have a copy of Fiskadoro but haven’t read it). Of those, I believe Tree is the better book, but Jesus’ Son is one of my all time favorite books (I’ve reviewed it here: http://biblioklept.org/2008/01/12/essential-short-story-collections-jesus-son/ ).
I’ll try to review Angels at the end of this week.
How was The Name of the World?

]]> By: Ben Collins http://biblioklept.org/2008/09/01/tree-of-smoke-denis-johnson/#comment-11380 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:22:18 +0000 http://biblioklept.wordpress.com/?p=1003#comment-11380 I finished this book in a marathon 300 page sitting yesterday and am glad to hear that you enjoyed it as much as I did. I’ll probably get a hold of the audiobook version just to be able to experience such amazing prose in a different way.

This the forth Johnson book I’ve read (Angels, Jesus’ Son, The Name of the World) do you have a favorite? I plan to read all of them, but it’s nice to have one specifically to look forward to.

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