Tree of Smoke

'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, a CIA spy engaged in psychological operations against the Viet Cong, and the disasters that befall him. It is also the story of two brothers heading towards self-destruction, and a story about double agents, missionaries, killers for hire and lost souls desperate for sex, death or God and thus an end to their loneliness.His first full-length novel in nine years, and one that describes a war where disinformation has become self-delusion, "Tree of Smoke" is Johnson's most gripping, visionary and ambitious work to date. "The God I want to believe in has a voice and a sense of humour like Denis Johnson's" - Jonathan Franzen. "Prose of amazing power and stylishness" - Philip Roth. "There isn't an American voice I love more than Denis Johnson's" - Michael Herr. "A true legislator of the tortured American soul in ceaseless prose of redeeming brilliance" - Alan Warner.

About the Author :
Denis Johnson was the author of several novels, including Already Dead, Resuscitation of a Hanged Man, Fiskadoro, The Stars at Noon, Angels and The Name of the World, plus a collection of short stories, Jesus’ Son, and four volumes of poetry. He died in Sea Ranch, CA in 2017 at the age of sixty-seven.

Review :
Once Johnson gets his hooks into you it takes about two sentences . . . p retty much impossible to stop reading. David Gates, "The New York Times Book Review An amazingly talented writer . . . We can hear Twain in his biting irony, Whitman in his erotic excess, not a little of Dashiell Hammett too in the hard sentences he throws back at his gouged, wounded world. Vince Passaro, "Newsday" "Denis Johnson has delivered his masterpiece. Chris Offutt "The God I want to believe in has a voice and a sense of humor like Denis Johnson's." Jonathan Franzen "Prose of amazing power and stylishness." Philip Roth Once Johnson gets his hooks into you- it takes about two sentences it's . . . pretty much impossible to stop reading. David Gates, The New York Times Book Review. An amazingly talented writer . . . We can hear Twain in his biting irony, Whitman in his erotic excess, not a little of Dashiell Hammett too in the hard sentences he throws back at his gouged, wounded world. Vince Passaro, Newsday "Denis Johnson has delivered his masterpiece." --Chris Offutt "The God I want to believe in has a voice and a sense of humor like Denis Johnson's." --Jonathan Franzen "Prose of amazing power and stylishness." --Philip Roth "Once Johnson gets his hooks into you--it takes about two sentences--it's . . . pretty much impossible to stop reading." --David Gates, "The New York Times Book Review ""An amazingly talented writer . . . We can hear Twain in his biting irony, Whitman in his erotic excess, not a little of Dashiell Hammett too in the hard sentences he throws back at his gouged, wounded world." --Vince Passaro, "Newsday" "I can't be sure that there's been a better American novel published in the past ten years. It is a masterpiece."--"The Miami Herald ""It will . . . get inside your head like the war it is describing--mystifying, horrifying, mesmerizing. [Johnson] has written a book that by the end wraps around you as tightly as a snake."--"The Washington Post Book World ""Damn impressive, a layered, rich, sweaty accomplishment of massive proportions."--"Entertainment Weekly """Tree of Smoke" is a Vietnam war novel almost without peer, in which 'the abyss is alive.' Johnson . . . has written the best work of his career, an existential tour de force."--"The Plain Dealer" (Cleveland) "Good morning and please listen to me: Denis Johnson is a true American artist, and "Tree of Smoke "is a tremendous book.""--The New York Times Book Review "(cover review) "Johnson's power of empathy is a beam that radiates and cannot be modulated. It's helplessly total. . . . Johnson has written his "War and Peace,""--"Harper's Magazine ""Gorgeous prose . . . a heartbreaking portrait of war."--"Outside """Tree of Smoke "is a brilliant pillar of fire. . . . Haunting, tragic, and humane."--"Men's Vogue ""Opens a window onto a world of mystery, war, and intrigue whose importance in the (usually) unwritten history of our republic can't be denied."--"Chicago Tribune ""An epic, wrenching new novel . . . delivers a beautifully layered, insightful, and visceral montage of stories."--"The Seattle Times" "Denis Johnson is a true American artist, and "Tree of Smoke "is a tremendous book.""--The New York Times Book Review ""The God I want to believe in has a voice and a sense of humor like Denis Johnson's."--Jonathan Franzen"" "I can't be sure that there's been a better American novel published in the past ten years. It is a masterpiece."--"The Miami Herald ""It will . . . get inside your head like the war it is describing--mystifying, horrifying, mesmerizing. [Johnson] has written a book that by the end wraps around you as tightly as a snake."--"The Washington Post Book World """Tree of Smoke" is a masterpiece of language and depth."--"San Francisco Chronicle ""Johnson has captured the zeitgeist of American experience as surely as Twain, Hemingway, or Ellison."--"New York Post" "Opens a window onto a world of mystery, war, and intrigue whose importance in the (usually) unwritten history of our republic can't be denied."--"Chicago Tribune"" """Johnson has written his "War and Peace,""--"Harper's Magazine""