Jesus' Son

By: Denis Johnson

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 2 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

American master Denis Johnson's nationally bestselling collection of blistering and indelible tales about America's outcasts and wanderers.

Denis Johnson's now classic story collection Jesus' Son chronicles a wild netherworld of addicts and lost souls, a violent and disordered landscape that encompasses every extreme of American culture. These are stories of transcendence and spiraling grief, of hallucinations and glories, of getting lost and found and lost again. The insights and careening energy in Jesus' Son have earned the book a place of its own among the classics of twentieth-century American literature. It was adapted into a critically praised film in 1999.

©1992 Denis Johnson (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Appropriately, Patton's reading is anything but warm and welcoming, but his delivery is so inescapably present that it draws listeners into the work and compels them to drop any preconceived notions about the protagonist and his life. The result is a memorable journey.” —AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner

“Patton's narration is pitch perfect; he produces voices for a collection of gritty, bent souls who spend their lost days riding buses, hitchhiking, breaking into abandoned houses, drinking at the Vine, and stealing pills from the hospital dispensary. An absolute must for Johnson fans and a fine introduction to the author's work.” —Publishers Weekly

“Will Patton is the growly voice of your audiobook dreams. His voice sounds like it's wearing a beat up leather jacket and worn out jeans, which is perfect for Denis Johnson's stories of drug adventures and smoky dive bars. Characters with a wild past deserve the kind of voice that may have made some questionable and risky decisions.” —BuzzFeed

Some books are better read.

The elliptical poetic nature of this short novel make following it in audio format nearly impossible. A great read (and a great movie) but not a great listen.

Beautifully written but

It’s dark and disconcerting. It reads very much as a stream of consciousness instead of a coherent narrative. That being said it is extremely well written. Denis Johnson had a beautiful way with words and Will Patton is good. He often sounds like he’s losing his voice, but that part of his charm, I guess. There are very few redeemable elements about the characters in this book.

Exquisite in content and composition

I have not been more moved by piece of literature in the last 30 years as I am with Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son. I am compelled to find everything he has ever written and devour it, most likely more than one read.

Poetic

The life of the scum of the earth (for lack of a better term). The forgotten, unseen people of the world. Dirty. Exposed poetically. This book is not for everyone. It definitely has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus if you were hoping for that. In the beginning I considered the descriptive writing overdone but by the middle I appreciated the writing style.

Bizarre different but good

Amazing imagery outstanding writing strange stories that somehow end up feeling whole at the end

I had to read this for a class

I am typically not the demographic for this, but a college class I was taking made me read this. I think if you like stories about people wallowing in self-pity while under the constant influence of drugs or alcohol, then this is for you. I see, hear, and read enough of this in my own real life to want to actively seek out this kind of story on my own. The plot itself also wanders like it's under the influence of something, so it can be a little hard to follow. Overall the narrator was wonderful for this story. I think they did an excellent job at making the stories flow better. I am just not the typical demographic for this and that is why I gave it this rating.

Hallelujah

Jesus’ Son is a great collection of writing. There’s an overlap of themes and content, but each story and character has some differences that make the short book feel denser and not just some breezy listen. Enjoy

Beautiful

I love this book, and the performance of it was beautiful. I’m definitely sold on audiobooks after this listen.

Wonderful Collection

Jesus' Son is, bar none, one of the best short story collections I have read in years. And comparable to the writing, Will Patton's narration brings even more life to the stories. Recommended.

One of my favorite Denis Johnson stories

I first knew of this book from the Billy Cruddup movie based o. tbe book. It was a very faithful adaptation as I gladly found out. I like the narrations in this version. The tone adds character to our Ill named protagonist.