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Dec 17, 2009

Bobby marked it as to-read

Putting an end to the near year-long reading of Crowley fiction, I plan on switching gears to this one by Denis Johnson. My friend Geoff has raved about it for years, so it's high time I see what all the fuss is about. Also - I have to count myself among the other goodreaders who have been bested by this book in previous attempts to read it. There is something obdurate about it's narrative structure that keeps causing me to lose interest about half way through. My shame is somewhat mollified to More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 25, 2011

Enrique rated it:

Rarely does one encounter fiction which transports the reader completely outside themselves, immersing them in vividly captured landscapes of Redwoods & rolling ridges rising out of hazy, distant Pacific; it's as if we're right there ourselves, a character, viewing through another's eyes the Lost Coast of Northern California. Each time I opened Already Dead, I forgot about my life and what I had been or was about to be doing. I was transfixed in the reading, completely in the moment, page by pag More...

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Oct 20, 2011

Al rated it:

This was my fourth Denis Johnson book, and I think I've read one too many. Set in post-hippie Northern California, it's the story of a loosely connected group of stoners and aimless, dangerous people whose lives intertwine (and many end) for inconsequential reasons. What passes for a plot serves mostly as a platform for Johnson's exploration of his characters' lives, with a heavy focus on nihilism, musings on reincarnation, and the effect of dissipation on human beings. Although Johnson's More...

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Oct 13, 2010

Bjorn rated it:

Denis Johnson’s, Already Dead: A California Gothic depicts how one evades and travels through life having only the landscape as the ultimate guide. There are no shortcuts. The unexpected is to be expected when reading this novel because of all the twists and turns that are revealed. Drugs have become the salvation for Nelson Fairchild Jr., in the sense that he is in debt because of a cocaine deal, and in order to pay back the kingpin he must do what ever it takes, which is to open a marijuana f More...

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Oct 11, 2009

Matthew rated it:

This is a Northern California book. Ukiah and Point Arena and redwoods and such.

I was not enjoying this book at all until I got to the middle, and Denis Johnson's special sense of humor finally showed up to the party. The characters get more interesting as the book goes along, and there are a lot of characters - then the book fell down toward the ending for pages and pages and kept hitting the same branch: Rambling descriptions of paranoia, psychedelia, drunkeness, and spirit voya More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 25, 2008

Eddie rated it:

After the potency of Jesus' Son, Fiskadoro, and Angels this is soft-bellied and slack, and only the wild characters kept it interesting. But literature has to be more than just wild characters with wild stories, in the end it's the writing itself that matters, and this struck me as the product of a racing pencil and a lazy eraser.

I'm not sure I'll even attempt the similarly thick Tree of Smoke after this bloated stoner of a novel.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2011

Carly rated it:

I liked Tree of Smoke a little more than Already Dead, though they share similar narrative bugaboos and stylistic quirks. I think it has something to do with the choice of content; Johnson is Johnson no matter what he writes, but Tree of Smoke was largely propelled by the vast energy that comes from the business of making war. There's a reason so many suspense thrillers are set in the middle of military operations.

Here the energy is generated by a larger than life archetype (think dim More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 03, 2007

J rated it:

The master of the iconoclast...Johnson sheds California's darker underbelly in way I'm only beginning to understand having lived here for just over five years now. Perhaps one of the few contemporary fiction writers who can present addled characters amidst drug-induced euphoria without overt or gimmicky counterculture tones. I'd love to see him explore the long form again in his career.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 11, 2008

Stuart rated it:

Pynchon's "Vineland," Anderson's "Boonville," Christopher Moore's black farces -- many good novels have been set on the Mendocino coast, but this may be the best of the bunch. Johnson completely nails the place, the people, and the vibe; and as usual delivers a satisfyingly complex tale peopled by unforgettable characters. This guy is turning into one of my favorite writers.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Nick rated it:

Sort of like Pulp Fiction set in rural Northern California. The plot revolves around a gang of self-destructive and dangerous burnouts. While this easily could have slid into some pretty boring territory, each character is sympathetic and interesting. Johnson does a great job describing the supernatural qualities of day-to-day life without sounding trite, whimsical, or dorky.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 20, 2007

Tyler rated it:

I recall picking this up at City Lights Books in San Fran and churning its pages all the way down the coast to the avenues in which its characters had been named after. Perhaps this is why it became so compelling, so richly dark and Venice in vernacular. Anyone on the West Coast should tackle this grit-teaser.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 13, 2011

Michael rated it:

This is the fourth Denis Johnson book I've read and there is no doubt that he is a gifted writer. But I have had mixed feelings about them. I absolutely loved "Nobody Move". I really liked "Tree of Smoke" and felt it could have been great but wandered too much so I wasn't sure what story I was reading. His novella, "Train of Dreams" left me blank and unmoved. "Already Dead" was beautifully written but dense and jumpy. The structure made it difficult for me More...

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Sep 15, 2007

Katey rated it:

It seems like everyone's always hating on this Johnson novel because it doesn't tie up nicely, or pyrotechnically, at the end. I think that's one of its strengths. I think the characters are beautifully developed.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 02, 2010

Infinite rated it:

This is a tough book to call. Denis Johnson is an awesome writer, and the vision and specific descriptions in the book are wonderful to behold. But, there is also a problem with the sense of movement. For the first couple hundred pages, the book really brings you along with a sense of anticipation. But then it simply, well, goes away! A few scenes are just weird and trippy; a few affairs are pretty irrelevant; and ultimately, I almost gave up on it three times - the last of these just a few More...

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Jan 07, 2009

Alex rated it:

Pure. Epic. Dark. Glorious. There really are so many ADJECTIVES I could use to describe this one. I am very picky. I always have to be sure the book is worth reading. This one is.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Laura rated it:

Till all fall down.
It'll do you just fine.
Don't think about what you left behind.
The way you came the way you go,
Let your tracks be lost in the dark and snow.

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Jan 03, 2012

Jonathan rated it:

It’s interesting that the New Age concept of channeling plays such a prominent part in “Already Dead” as Denis Johnson seems to be trying so hard to invoke the voices of other authors. Mostly Don DeLillo. There’s an overpowering DeLillo influence here. Johnson also clomps down trails well-traveled by California fantasists Tim Powers and James Blaylock. He writes a leaden, tin-eared imitation of Elmore Leonard dialog that floats off the tongue like dribbled shot pellets. And God help us when he More...

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Nov 26, 2008

Bob rated it:

One of the great books of all time. I read the last 50 or so pages as slow as possible because I didn't want it to end.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 09, 2010

Nate rated it:

wow. I don't know what to say. I may have to stop reading novels for a while after this one.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 08, 2009

E. rated it:

i'm blown away that so many people like this book. It starts off ok but then rambles on and on. Half the sub plots don't lend to the story. It is ok as a page turner goes but nothing in here I see as good literature. I have 20 pages to go and don't really care if I finish them or not. I really liked Jesus Son but this was a pretty solid disappointment.

Being from north of San Francisco and haven't spent a lot of time around these towns made this way more interesting but all in a More...

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Feb 26, 2008

Stacy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like

Feb 14, 2008

Ben rated it:

Not that the first time around didn't dazzle me, but before reviewing this book I thought it would be good to reread it. Already dead is an absolutely beautiful book about a few small towns in Mendocino county and the deranged people that live there. Their lives intertwine in to a story which makes my jaw drop. The opening paragraph I think gives you a glimpse in to Johnson's poetic genius.

"Van Ness felt a gladness and wonder as he drove past the small isolated towns along U.S. More...

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Feb 16, 2009

Ted rated it:

I read this book around 2000, a period when I was kind of discovering California (i.e. going there a fair amount). I really enjoyed the immersion in the weird world of the NorCal coast and the mystic seekers/burnt out hippies and other denizens of this strange place. I recently re-read the book and it's still good, full of strange characters, none of whom you'll be too enamored with by the end. A good mix of pot farmers x morally confused lawmen x the occult equals a cool book...

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Jun 23, 2011

Remy added it

I really, really tried so hard. Read hundreds of pages. I don't dispute that Johnson is a great writer. I am the problem: I read genre books not serious literature. I kept finding myself thinking: why are you using so many words, Denis Johnson? Do you really need a page to describe that feeling? Nothing was grabbing me, despite being about crazy Californians and pot growing. Hey, nothing can please everyone and I'm the ultimate lightweight.

1 comment like

Nov 23, 2010

Jeff rated it:

I almost liked this book. There was a lot to like - good writing, interesting characters-but for the most part I was just kind of bored. Even when I was enjoying it I looked forward to finishing so I could read something else. I would give it a higher rating if i had quit reading after book 2 because book 3 is where it really went to hell for me. Overall I prefer Mr. Johnson's poetry to his prose.

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Jul 19, 2009

Knott added it

the poem which DJ says this book was based on

can be downloaded free from this page:

http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID...

...

the poem's called "Poem Noir" and can be found in a couple
books there,

both of which can be downloaded free (as pdfs):

"(Acting) Poems" and "Poems for Death"

...
actually all my books can be downloaded free from there—

Bill Knott

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Jan 28, 2008

Liz rated it:

I have been obsessing over Denis Johnson this month. He has yet to disappoint me. Of all his work that I've read, though, "Already Dead" is the one that made the largest impact on me. It is one of those novels that you pick up and can not put down. The kind of book you feign illness and cancel plans with friends to stay in and read. Some of the mystical/spiritual aspects are a little hippy-dippy, but I didn't mind for once as it was in keeping with the Southern California feel of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 26, 2007

Matt rated it:

Where to begin, where to end, and of course what thoughts do I not say? The last question would be what Denis Johnson forgo to ask himself, the characters are all what you would expect from his writing: lost, searching for some faded dream that is usually fueled by too many ingested chemicals. But that's not the problem of course, the problem would be this feels not even like a first draft but an earlier version where even ideas were still left in the text. This is a hard read, the narration swi More...

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Oct 02, 2009

Brian rated it:

Thanks bro, for sending me this while I lived in Northern California. Johnson does a really good job of capturing the dark paranoid underbelly of the area, and the zombie and otherworldly traits of many of the people who live there, or cease to live while existing there. Similarities in this living while dead theme to parts of Pynchon's Vineland...

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Nov 29, 2011

kristyn rated it:

I made it to page 192 of 435 before I finally gave up and threw in the towel. I kept hoping it would get better... there were little snippets that were promising, but they were few and far between, and I was too tired of dealing with drugged-out surreal-babble.

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