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

Outstanding Work

I found this book to be both "a good read," and a profound piece of literature -- memorable and rewarding on a number of levels. That doesn't happen very often these days within the pages of the same novel. I can understand why some listeners may not feel the same about it -- it's not conventional in the sense that everything is not laid out in a straight line, at or near the surface, and all the loose ends are not tied up by a happy ending. After all, it's set in and around the Vietnam War. (Plenty of dark humor though.) A number of plots and subplots are interwoven to produce a work that is more than the sum of it's parts. The author credits the reader with the ability to think and apply their own intelligence, reflection and insight to the proceedings. My only regret is that more of Mr. Johnson's work isn't available on Audible, so I will have to buy his other books on Amazon to read them.

Dark of Heartness

Johnson has captured the futile essence of hte Viet Nam conflict in this book. Sometimes a little difficult to follow, Johnson's account of the books cast left me feeling like I needed a shower. Definitely catching the darkness at the heart of the era.

Difficult but worthwhile

I find I can tune out with some books and wander back to listening and be able to carry on without missing a beat. This is not one of those books. This is a book where your attention has to be focused on every word and you have to concentrate and work pretty hard to keep up. So I'd call Tree of Smoke a challenge but I'd also suggest it is well worth it. The writing is fantastic, the characters are interesting and the reading is excellent. The style of the book reminds me a bit of Cormac McCarthy. If you're looking for a lazy and light listen this probably isn't the book for you, which is not at all to say it is a bad book or that there is something wrong with people who like lazy and light listens -- only that some people won't like it. I think it is a brilliant book -- it is just rather unforgiving to the wandering mind. I had to listen to it twice to really get the most out.

My country

As a Vietnam combat wounded marine who served two tours in the war in Vietnam this book was connected to me both spiritually and physically I would recommend this book to some people but not all people.

same tired Vietnam formula

A nhilistic war book. How original. Save your money and read a Thin Red Line if that's what floats your boat. A waste of an otherwise good narrator,

A waste of credit and time as well as talent

The only positive thing I found about this "work" was the wonderful narration.

From someone familiar with many things from that time period it is obvious that the so called writer was on some magical mushrooms or something when he tried to write this story.
There was no due diligence for research done in preparing for this book.
The web was not woven connecting anything or anyone.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME.
This was the most diasappointing work I have tried here in dozens and dozens of books over a period of years.

a quagmire

This book, like the Vietnam war, was a quagmire. A long, pointless, tedious slog through the thick mud of his prose. I fought my way through it desperately hoping for the light at the end of the tunnel that might bring it all together, but it never happened.

Take my word for it and don't bother wading through this one. There are too many other, better audio books waiting.

What was that?

As usual , Will Patton's performance was top notch. The rest was a huge waste of time and money. Do yourself a favour, and skip this book.

Yawn

I'm surprise that Will Patton didn't read himself to sleep with this one!

Couldn't get through it

I think this is one of those books that just does not translate into audio format. I found it hard to tell who was saying what as the narrator didn't differentiate his voice. I got lost in the details and try as I might I couldn't finish it. It just bored me to tears.