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Tree of Smoke | 
 enlarge | Manufacturer: FSG
Category: EBooks
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $6.01 (38%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 2924
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
ASIN: B000UZPHPI
Publication Date: September 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Amazon Significant Seven, September 2007: Denis Johnson is one of those few great hopes of American writing, fully capable of pulling out a ground-changing masterpiece, as he did in 1992 with the now-legendary collection, Jesus' Son. Tree of Smoke showed every sign of being his "big book": 600+ pages, years in the making, with a grand subject (the Vietnam War). And in the reading it lives up to every promise. It's crowded with the desperate people, always short of salvation, who are Johnson's specialty, but despite every temptation of the Vietnam dreamscape it is relentlessly sober in its attention to on-the-ground details and the gradations of psychology. Not one of its 614 pages lacks a sentence or an observation that could set you back on your heels. This is the book Johnson fans have been waiting for--along with everybody else, whether they knew it or not. --Tom Nissley
Product 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 Fucking 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 73 more reviews...
 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.
Haunting, moving, and evocative June 14, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Those who bought this book expecting a "Vietnam book" were perhaps disappointed. Those of us who expected a haunting and penetrating psychological portrayal of a time, a country (or two), and a fascinating set of characters were richly rewarded. Yes, this book is slow, and contemplative, and wanders into theology. And yes, this book is very, very good.
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