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Tree of Smoke | 
 enlarge | Author: Denis Johnson
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Category: Book
Buy Used: $33.50
Used (2) Collectible (2) from $33.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  79 reviews
Sales Rank: 2530495
Format: Import
Media: Perfect Paperback
Edition: Airside e.
Pages: 614
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.9
ISBN: 0230703682
EAN: 9780230703681
ASIN: 0230703682
Publication Date: 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Trade Paperback - New, Mint Condition - Published in UK - Out of Print
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| Customer Reviews: Read 74 more reviews...
 might not cook your goose August 27, 2008
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 Sarah Kofman, with its emphasis on conjuring death, has a topic heading at the top of page 132 about Saint Paul, The Law as Hateful. Based on ideas that Nietzsche published in his book Daybreak, it makes Christianity seem like a religion that was created primarily for people who did not want to think that their goose was cooked. One of the characters in "Tree of Smoke" comes to Saint Paul, Minnesota, near the end of the book. On a scale from stillborn to born with a brain, her trip to Saint Paul is like having her brain fall into a fish net. She might be considered a sex object at the beginning of the book, but at some point, she becomes the personification of a "Don't look now" mentality.
It is quite common for us to consider religion less frightening than a myth in the P. I. in which the world of suck joins the world of blood in the form of a vampire. "Tree of Smoke" tries to explain how such myths became a basis of Psy Ops. A big irony is that the same American agency that needs double agents to do big Psy Ops activities was also attempting to get rid of double agents, or anyone who seemed capable of being on both sides. Talking about a thing as a hypothetical becomes hyperbolic when a polygraph test attempts to cover the same material. I have become so fond of sacrilege this summer, mixing the standard religious mythology with historical hypotheticals that are more plausible than certain assertions in the Bible, I feel like jumping from the basic palm tree, which is not the world the Hebrew Bible used for a pillar of cloud, to a real empire that was based in Rome for centuries:
Rose (a name shortened from something that looked Jewish to me) wrote a book, Revolutionary Antisemitism from Kant to Wagner (Princeton University Press, 1990), which mentioned Germans around 1800 who considered Jesus the son of a Roman soldier. The historicism connected with the idea mentioned Greek and Latin as languages that the Talmud had been translated into, resulting in some confusion about Jews referring to the "son of the virgin." Considering the Roman empire as a real empire, as Japanese expansion in a prosperity sphere in Asia before America joined World War II involved comfort women, it seems plausible that Mary could have been a sex object for a string of Roman soldiers.
Like alcohol, tobacco, and firearms in Tree of Smoke, sex can be part of a metaforeplay that has after-effects greater than a bunch of Branch Davidians becoming smoke and toast fifteen years ago near Waco, Texas. Iraq was not like Nam because we really wanted to declare victory and fire their army before 4000 American troops could be killed in Iraq. Tree of Smoke attempts to turn alcohol, tobacco, and firearms into the ultimate pleasures of this life, but ultimately it runs into the question: do you enjoy telling lies?
What's Your Poison? July 26, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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 after witnessing some dirty dealings in the Phillipines, he wins his longed for assignment to Vietnam.
While there he works with his Uncle, a Colonel who is being surveilled by his own Agency for having written a wierd manifesto/memo about his ideas covert warfare. The Colonel is into deep psychological and intelligence tactics and strategies He is a brilliant man, but at the same time it would appear that he is growing frighteningly metaphysical and mystical.
The Colonel casts a large shadow over his nephew, and also the novel itself. Cut from the same cloth as Conrad's Kurtz and Melville's Ahab, he is a cipher with a very determined will to win what is an unwinnable situation.
While Skip wonders about his Uncle's sanity, double agents, biblical and mythological references, and internal affairs-type investigations are layered on until Johnson succeeds, (at least in my opinion,) in creating a very mysterious atmosphere. However, the book DOES sometimes cross that line between mysterious and confusing, and I found myself going back to reread some passages to make sure I was tracking.
There are other major characters; two brothers who are fighting the war as enlisted men in different branches of the service. At first their presence is a nice juxtaposition to the CIA entities. But as the book progresses, their fractured incidents, (both stateside and in country,) began to feel superfluous. It was as if they should be in a collection of short stories, separate from this work.
About a third of the way into the novel there is a very tense narrative of a firefight during the Tet Offensive. It is a surprise attack and it is the first combat some of the characters are ever seeing. The suspense, anxiety and confusion of the attack are relayed in a gripping manner, and this brings home a visceral connection with the overall themes. At this point I thought the novel was going to strike a nice balance between the loft of its mythological/literary metaphors and the realism of the violent war that consumed so much of our nation's blood and treasure.
That structure never quite coheres or sustains itself, but despite that, I feel the book still remains an achievement. Large, rambling and labrynthine it is a challenging read with many enduring moments.
And I should note that it seems as if the Iraq War informs this novel as much, if not more so, than the Vietnam War. And so I can imagine Tree of Smoke will be able to speak to some in future generations who will find their nation engaged in protracted conflicts.
 A Lot of Dead Wood July 18, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
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 novel. It's more about how people process and deal with the fact of being involved in a war than it is about combat.
I think Johnson is an excellent writer. But there's a lot of slogging through some boring and at times confusing events to get to occasional flashes of brilliance. Tree of Smoke is too long but it is memorable if you can get to the end.
 Denis Johnson's latest book was worth the long wait. July 1, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Tree of Smoke is a modern day version of Heart of Darkness and Denis Johnson is the closest thing we have to Joseph Conrad.
A monumental book. . . June 30, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson is a masterpiece. This book provides more evidence that Johnson is one of the greatest writers at work today. Tree of Smoke captures the utter devastation of war. No one wins in war, and Denis Johnson has done a good job of portraying that in Tree of Smoke. Don't let the size of this book deter you from reading it, it is a fast read filled with great imagery and detail. Tree of Smoke is a must read for anyone who is interested in the Vietnam War. In all reality it is a must read for anyone who enjoys great books. Tree of Smoke is one of my all time favorite books. Thank you Mr. Johnson for writing a book worth my money and time.
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