Tree of Smoke

A Novel

By: Denis Johnson

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 23 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2007 Denis Johnson (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Literary Fiction, 2008

“Patton is outstanding...[his] performance is quiet, powerful, and gut-wrenching....This is MUST listening.” —AudioFile Magazine

“This is the very talented Will Paton's greatest performance as a reader so far. His range of voices and evocation of character--the hopeful, the innocent, the cynical, the despairing and the mad--bring the tale to even more terrible and blistered life than the book itself, making it a 23-hour excursion into mesmerizing darkness.” —The Washington Post

“Will Patton's reading of \"Tree of Smoke\" is superb...The experience overall is one of hallucinatory horror, laugh-out-loud outrage, of sadness at the tremendous waste of lives, money and the national pride that went into Vietnam and did not return.” —Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Should be a movie!

A bit confusing at times, but over all its a pretty good read. I can also this as a good movie as well.

tree of smoke

i rarely make comments but feel compelled to do so here. i was first made aware of this book in the new york times. the review was the most favorable that i can ever remember reading. i then saw the one star reviews here and very nearly didn't order the book. that would have been a huge mistake. i don't expect to ever see tom cruise starring in the movie version of this book and if you are drawn to books that are paced in that way, you will likely be disappointed. however, if beauty of language, compelling imagery, and depth of character appeal to you, allow yourself to be immersed in the depth of this incredible tale.

One of the best

When I began listening to this book, it took me an hour to get into the rhythm and pacing, but when I became accustomed to it, it blew me away. Will Patton has perfectly captured the emotion of the characters and even though I knew how it would end, I wish the story had not. If you are looking for something different and unique, choose this one.

Worth persevering.

A very fine book which at times borders on incoherence, although
always managing to tie things together. The narration is superb and adds to the experience, building on the atmospherics of the words. The plot meanders, the characters are flawed and it bears no resemblance to any conventional war novel. It reminds me of Michael Herr's wonderful "Dispatches" in the way it is a series of vignettes, sometimes only loosely related to what has come before. Most of all it portrays the way men (mainly) can begin a cascade to destruction, reveling in the knowledge that they will continue to fall and doing nothing to prevent it, rather doing the opposite. The polarized reviews are understandable but I found it to be a profoundly moving and engrossing experience.

Vietnam is crazy...or WAS crazy (I guess)

Jimmy Storm is my MAN!...
take any 20 minute segment and put it anywhere else in the reading and you'll hardly notice it...

Trip down memory lane

If you were a country kid in the South in the early 60’s, this book is a nostalgia tour, as well as a good mystery. Grand entry at the rodeo, the opening day of dove season, camping by the creek, church on Wednesday night and the handheld fans with the pictures of Jesus provided by the funeral home. Segregation is here also. The bite of it is particularly sharp, because it felt so normal when we were ten. This is a good story. Told from two perspectives, that of a ten year old boy and his grandfather, the characters are familiar and comfortable, more realistic and far less farcical than Mayberry’s cheerful denizens. They face the evil in their midst with grit, determination and loaded guns. There aren’t many surprises in the plot, but the storyline is tight. The author’s voice is authentic, filled with the idioms of time and place. The narrator is excellent, equally good for the boy and the grandfather. There are descriptions of animal mutilations, but the most important dog doesn’t die. I highly recommend it.

Moby Redux

Not since Moby Dick have I encountered a novel that will engage you on a gut-wrenching visceral level of realism and then slide you gently into a meditation of metaphysical matters, and then bam! back into realism. And just as literature students debate endlessly the meaning of Ahab's obsessions and Ishmael's salvation, so too will future generations have the pleasure of deciphering Johnson's challenge: what are we to make of his tree of smoke, his birth-canal tunnels, his Catholic priests of lost faith, his monks of lost purpose, his missionaries crushed by Calvinism, his psy-op warriors on the edge where "reality becomes the dream" and who become the final "compensator"? These are not easy threads to link into a unified vision, but the Johnson is throwing down a big challenge to his reader to pay attention to these underlying concerns and not merely ride the more surface story. But that is not easy either because oh what a surface story it is-amazingly poetical, with never a lazy sentence, with dialogue that crackles, and characters who will stick in your memory. It is true that the surface plot about the Colonel's plans takes an abrupt turn and seems not to matter any more, but what does matter is where the characters are going, and we are allowed to follow all of them--each to their surprising and satisfying journey's end. No one reads Moby Dick just to learn about whaling practices, so too no one should read "Tree of Smoke" just to learn about why we were in Vietnam. What Johnson's metaphysical message is, I have not come to terms with yet, but I love the challenge he has given us. And the narrator, Will Patton, gives a reading that is poignant to the point of raising the hairs on your neck. What a ride, what a ride, what a ride.

EPIC!!!

Exceptional writing and narration. Will Patton is phenomenal, it sounds as if the writer wrote this for Patton to read. This is an epic work of the human spirit. The vietnam war is only a background, in this one. The story is not confined by mere historical facts. I think some of the reviewers must have come into this wanting a Vietnam War story. The battles this work explores rage in the hearts of its characters and if you are listening/hearing probably your own.

This IS non-linear/stream of consciousness writing but I was able to keep up with the intended story. I laughed and cried, but don't think this is a sentimental comedy. Very few books have affected me this deeply. I predict this will be in our educational canon. After listening to the audiobook, I purchased the book ... at times I just open it randomly and fall in.

The Vietnam War from a different angle

The Vietnam war, being the first war to be televised, has filled our culture with plenty of historical icons that define it for most of us. Denis Johnson has peeled back the surface of those images in Tree of Smoke, and forced us to look at the reality behind them, and to understand our complicity in concealing the truth beneath the layers of collective memory. Will Patton's narration is skillful and compelling.

Ignore the negative reviews and buy this book

Not sure why there are so many vehemently negative reviews of this novel. It is an amazing work... luminous, sprawling, elegiac at times and mysterious at others. The narration by Will Patton is perfect for the tone and detail of this book, and carries us along as the story becomes more and less specific. If you are looking for a carefully-plotted thriller, this is not your book. This is an articulate, far-reaching work that touches on themes of family, war, secrets, and the lies we tell ourselves. Listen immediately.