With its large cast of characters, multiple plots and large scale, its like a baggy victorian novel soaked in blood, weed and sweat. Tree of smoke showed every sign of being his big book. Tree of smoke is a 2007 novel by american author denis johnson which won the national book award for fiction and was a finalist for the pulitzer prize. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. One of the new york times 10 best books of the yearnamed a best book of the year by time, the washington post, the boston globe, chicago tribune, san francisco chronicle, salon, slate, the national book critics circle, the christian science monitor. Its a very different type of vietnam novel, focusing on the secret war instead of on the clash of arms, although theres that as well. From the author of jesus son comes this longawaited followupa national book awardwinning tale of two american families swept up in the secrets and lies of the vietnam war.
As many of you know the photography of the vietnam war was what made me become a journalist, so you can probably guess how many vietnam books ive read over the years. World war ii, the asian country now known as vietnam was in actuality controlled by france. The name of the world a weird campus novel, train dreams an epic of. Tree of smoke is a soulful book, even a numinous one its. Johnson covers vietnam, cia in tree of smoke september 4, 2007 denis johnsons new novel, tree of smoke, is one of the late summers big books in a number of ways. I dont feel this is a book about the vietnam war as much as it is a book about disillusionment. This mammoth odyssey about the vietnam war transcends all other attempts to write about vietnam, and makes them look like hallmark greeting cards.
About the author denis johnson is the author of five novels, a collection of poetry, and one book of reportage. Johnson covers vietnam, cia in tree of smoke denis johnsons new novel, tree of smoke, is one of the late summers big books in a number. Easily the best audiobook i listened to in 2007, tree of smoke has been called a vietnam war book, but its reach is much deeper. Tree of smoke is about a man named skip sands who joins the cia in 1965, and begins working in vietnam during the american involvement there. In this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. Experience the horrors of the vietnam war, both in vietnam and the united states, from various points of view, including william houston and his brother james houston who serve in the military, a cia agent named skip sands, his uncle colonel francis sands, another intelligence officer named storm, a military man from south vietnam named hao, a spy. Maybe tree of smoke is just too literary for my blood. Tree of smoke winner, national book awards 2007 for fiction. An epic novel of bungled espionage and small mercies in the vietnam era. Tree of smoke is a 2007 novel by american author denis johnson which won the national. Tree of smoke is the story of william skip sands, ciaengaged in pschological operations against the vietcongand the disasters that befall him. Tree of smoke tree of smoke is the 2007 national book award winner for fiction. I think that tree of smoke might be a very good book to read, but it is a difficult book to listen to.
In the wake of his retirement from professional basketball, kobe the black mamba bryant decided to. One of the new york times 10 best books of the year named a best book of the year by time, the washington post, the boston globe, chicago tribune, san francisco chronicle, salon, slate, the national book critics circle, the christian science monitor. Tree of smoke is an ambitious, long, dense, daunting novel sited at the heart of a great american evil, the vietnam war. His big novel was tree of smoke vietnam, cia, but his best books were probably the shortest. It is a gripping novel that opens with kennedy assassination in 1963.
Denis johnson is a true american artist, and tree of smoke is a tremendous book. Denis johnson is a true american artist, and tree of smoke is a tremendous book, a strange entertainment, very long but very fast, a great whirly ride. It takes place during the vietnam war, spanning the years 196370, with a coda set in 1983. Though tree of smoke is hobbled by a plot that starts and stops and lurches wildly about, its a powerful story about the american experience in vietnam, with unsettling echoes of the. One of the protagonists of tree of smoke is bill houston, who was the main character in johnsons 1983 debut novel angels. Pho 533 delights the senses 533 viet fusion restaurant. For one thing, its about the vietnam war, and who would have thought we. If you want to read a great book about cia and vietnam check out the crazed genius of james ellroys cold six thousand. I loved tree of smoke, but im going to take some time this weekend to figure out more precisely why this book fascinated and frustrated me. Across the pond by michael mccormick is the story of a young american who fights in vietnam for his country, but is rejected when he returns from the war.
Tree of smoke is the 2007 national book award winner for fiction. A novel 9780374279127 by johnson, denis and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. It is also the story of the houston brothers, bill and james, young men who drift out of the arizona desert and into a war where the line between disinformation and delusion has blurred away. It is about a man named skip sands who joins the cia in 1965, and begins working in vietnam during the american involvement there. Set in southeast asia and the us, and spanning two decades, it ostensibly tells. Tree of smoke is denis johnsons first fulllength novel in nine years, and his most gripping, beautiful, and powerful work to date. Tree of smoke the name given to a psy op that might or might not be hypothetical and might or might not be officially sanctioned is denis johnsons most gripping, visionary and ambitious work to date. William skip sands cia officer in philippines and vietnam who works under his uncles tutelage. The god i want to believe in has a voice and a sense of humor like denis johnsons. Named a best book of the year by time, the washington post, the boston globe, chicago tribune, san francisco chronicle, salon, slate, the national book critics circle, the christian science monitor. Tree of smoke gives me a catch22 vibe, a story i eventually learned to love but is a hard book to relate to, and theres a little bit of that going on here.
Tree of smoke won the 2007 national book award for fiction and was a finalist for the 2008 pulitzer prize for fiction. Listen to this audiobook excerpt from denis johnsons novel tree of smoke, the 2007 national book award winner for fiction. Hallucinogenic, spellbinding, articulate, critical, absurd, tree of smoke is a book for any true lover of mankind, for any lost soul in search of redemption, written by a brother in arms. Tree of smoke is the story of william skip sands, cia engaged in psychological operations against the vietcong and the disasters that befall him. The time frame of the novel is from 1963 to 1970, with a coda set in 1983. It takes place during the vietnam war, spanning the years 196370, with a. In the tradition of tim obriens the things they carried, denis johnsons tree of smoke, and phillip caputos a rumor of war, the candlestickmaker recalls a vietnam that seared disenchantment into a post world war ii generation who learned to question authority at all levels. I have read quite a bit of vietnam fiction and non fiction, but ive never read anything that seems to capture the tortured soul of that conflict as sharply and beautifully as this book. Tree of smoke, which won the national book award for fiction, is a searing vision of a world without shores. As much as catch22 was an antivietnam hidden behind a wwii novel, tree of smoke can be read as an antiiraq novel hidden behind a vietnam novel. Theres very little redemption to be found for any of these characters. Within the current political climate, the reader might expect a new novel about the war in vietnam to provide a metaphor for iraq. Denis johnsons wildly ambitious new novel reads like a whackedout, hallucinogenic variation on a vietnam classic, and yet he manages to. Winner of the 2007 national book award for fiction.
Tree of smoke is a soulful book, even a numinous one its dedicated again for h. It follows skip sands, working for the psychological operations department of the cia, and his larger than life uncle colonel sands. My rating reflects the audiobook, not the book itself. Tree of smoke by denis johnson farrar, straus and giroux. Novel set in vietnam war, cia history win national book. Johnson has written a powerful document, and patton matches the depth and breadth of the novel with a performance that captures the nuance of the language.
Tree of smoke book chicago public library bibliocommons. But if you really want to sink your teeth in pick up tree of smoke. Tree of smoke is less concerned with any individual war than with the nature of war, and with the essence of war novels. Yet denis johnson has bigger whales to land in his longest and most ambitious work to date. The author, based the story on his experience as a u. Literature and the vietnam war literature and the vietnam war judith b. Johnson covers vietnam, cia in tree of smoke september 4, 2007 denis johnsons new novel, tree of smoke, is one of the late summers big books in. One of the new york times 10 best books of the year. In vietnam, all us forces were ordered to cease fighting and that included air assets as well as the ground troops. Shortlisted for canadas prestigious giller prize, this profoundly humane novel vancouver sun, wrings suspense and humor out of the everyday choices we make, revealing the delicate balance between sacrifice and selfinterest, doing good and being good. I have broken down the best books about vietnam into helpful sections.
Sprawling, intense and visceral, denis johnsons tree of smoke will no doubt become one of the great books about the vietnam war. I cant be sure that theres been a better american novel published in the past ten years. Dont get me wrong, this is more readable than most highliterary fiction, and i did return to this book again and again it was a long read with varying degrees of. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam.