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Already Dead

3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 · rating details · 1,402 ratings · 131 reviews

Nelson Fairchild has a thriving marijuana business in California's lush redwood country. But he may lose land, cash, and crop in a divorce settlement. Needing quick cash, Nelson agreed to smuggle $90,000 worth of cocaine through customs for drug dealer Harry Lally. But Nelson chickened out and flushed the powder. Now, Lally wants him dead. This is award-winning writer Deni...more

Paperback, 448 pages

Published May 19th 1998 by Harper Perennial (first published 1997)

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Nov 07, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Johnson writes like a dream, one Dantean page after another. As was the case with its younger sibling, Tree of Smoke , this is a flawed work of genius—and you daren't even skim the lengthier metaphysical soliloquies, episodes in finger-drumming vexation though they occasionally descend to be, simply because DJ threads them with phrases of such arresting form and subliminal profundity as to leave your eyes stickily aswim and seated-self shaking, whilst weaving them so dexterously into the logorrh...more

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Sep 12, 2007 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

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Dec 27, 2012 Tarbuckle added it

In keeping with the other novels by Denis Johnson that I have read, Already Dead is populated by a cast of human beings living in a permanent state of being ill-at-ease, unsettled by a natural world that forever seems to be watching humanity with a hungry, ravaging eye, no matter how drenchingly beautiful she may have garbed herself within any particular locale. In this case, it is Northern California, parked aside an immense, battering ocean harboring an array of secrets beneath its rolling sur...more In keeping with the other novels by Denis Johnson that I have read, Already Dead is populated by a cast of human beings living in a permanent state of being ill-at-ease, unsettled by a natural world that forever seems to be watching humanity with a hungry, ravaging eye, no matter how drenchingly beautiful she may have garbed herself within any particular locale. In this case, it is Northern California, parked aside an immense, battering ocean harboring an array of secrets beneath its rolling surface and sporting a spread of mountain and valley matching arid desert visages with a lush coiffure of trees, including ancient redwoods that thrust singularly and powerfully up towards the westward sky. Scarcely populated and sprinkled with small towns and villages, its people appear to be the tide-tossed detritus of the cultural storms that raged and burst across the sixties: seeking a communion with both the land and one another amidst natural splendor, but finding themselves no less kinked and pressed-down upon by lonely weariness and elemental gravity than their kith and kin hemmed by the vast metropolises to the south. No matter the vehicle, be it within the bottle, the bong, the bedroom, the pulpit, the kick of chemistry, the desert wastes or the forest cloakrooms, these people have found themselves utterly lost and forlorn, isolated, wracked within their own particular tormenting passions and alienated nature, seeking some manner of harmony in what could passably serve as Eden but forever breaking themselves upon the barriers of its infernal manifestation. Whether it be viewed through the lenses of supernatural occurrence or psychological spelunking, Johnson portrays this thin spread of flailing and desperate humanity as but fleshly vessels for spiritual opportunity and opportunists, the only trace of happiness to be found by those precious few who have glommed onto the fact that there exists ground to be staked out between body and soul which, in fugue state fashion, might provide the mist-woven manna capable of elevating purgatory to a kind of heaven.

The book benefits and suffers from Johnson's experimental nature, which sees him using shifts in narrative voice and temporal linearity to compress, expand, and confound the reader's understanding of what is going on. The death of many of the main characters is either announced or strongly hinted at up front with the remaining story then the means for the untangling of the threads that the author so casually knots throughout the early stages. Indeed, Already Dead carries several interpretations herein: that this complex shoreside theater is one of ghosts; that a truly enlightened state can only be attained if one acknowledges this rubric as an existential fact; the terminal state of a significant part of the cast even as we are reading about their exploits upriver of time. This method can be effective, in that it forces one to adjust and readjust one's mental image of both what is transpiring and of the cast undertaking the actions therein, early judgements proven erroneous, prior anticipations wrenched forcefully out of position. However, it is also somewhat limiting, as that foreknowledge gained impacts the suspenseful enjoyment of watching tense sequences of events unfold, separated plot paths bending in towards a joining that has been unveiled some two hundred pages prior. There's also some nifty textual jiujitsu sprung from Nietzsche's Zarathustra, a self-willed striving against conventional morality that appears advanced and then veiled in Van Ness, shown to be circularly adaptable in Fairchild, coercive and manipulable in Yvonne, acceptably self-defeating in Navarro; and, in every case, Johnson portrays this self-impositioning as something potently charged but unwieldy, precariously straddling the line between purposeful desire and purplish insanity, a tool susceptible to demonic personas, incorporeal past-lives (or subconscious emanations) whose very immateriality, ravenous for controllable flesh, makes for an extremely perilous and unpredictable road to travel, especially in light of the monstrous interstitial eighteen-wheelers of Fate that thunder along its narrow lanes.

I suppose the thing to keep in mind is that Johnson is a poet, and his prose serves, above all, to unleash a flowing stream of the bizarre, damaged, and extreme to wash over the core of Anytown, USA, that we might observe how everything crumbles and falls apart, though it be bathed in the most sublimely pearlescent of light. And while he is unafraid of exploring the spiritual element of existence, such expeditions tend towards revealing little that is hale or whole or capable of any sustained uplift; you find confirmation of your own ravished anguish and failures and take note of that fact that hope is in very short supply. That's just how it goes, reader. You finish a Denis Johnson novel exhilarated by the writing and crushed by the people and events it is used to depict; left eager for more and out there on the very cutting edge of modernized despair, isolated and gauging the improbability of ever making it back home.(less)

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Oct 20, 2011 Al rated it 2 of 5 stars

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 descr...more

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Oct 13, 2010 Bjorn Arnesen rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 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 farm. This is not the way to revive oneself. Surrounded by debt and the loss of not being included in his fathers inheritance, Fairchild Jr. must find a way, no matter what it is to bring himself back to life. The revival of the hippie era lives within this book. Denis Johnson engulfs the reader in the beginning of the book. The imagery used to capture the attention is immaculate. Every aspect of this story has been thought out without leaving anything astray or ignored. The characters all have their own distinct “self.” Either when it comes to his paranoid little brother or the junkie philosopher, they all grab the attention of the intention to not just entertain but to explore new routes of oneself. Besieged by death, murder, drugs, spirituality, and philosophy, Nelson Fairchild Jr. battles through himself. This story parallels the life of some of the California coastal life, not exactly to the word, but to some of the experiences. Being able to relate this to real life has helped understand how one would choose to live their life. The question that comes up is why would one choose to live like this? The real is answer is, that it is just how life plays out, there are no directions on what to do, curve balls are apart of life. It is how you handle the curve balls that are thrown at one, and whether you take a swing or not, you still decide the road of your life. In my opinion it is similar to the Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Less Traveled. Everyone has choices and Fairchild Jr. makes his because of the cards he has been dealt. Johnson speaks through Fairchild Jr. by describing Northern California as a place where the youth and the kindest and most progressive souls thrive. But in contrast yet there is still the murderous treachery that lies beneath the blinding light of the enlightened youth. A main theme that is sustained throughout the novel is human catastrophe. Johnson seemed to be very contrite towards the failures that were relevant within the characters. The driving force behind this novel is Nelson Fairchild Jr., but what controls and takes the reader on journey is the landscape. Fairchild Jr. is controlled by the natural factors of life and his environment. The influence of his surroundings is what guides him to his decisions and encounters with people and life. (less)

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Oct 11, 2009 Matthew rated it 2 of 5 stars

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 voyage. As fun as t...more

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Jun 25, 2008 Eddie Watkins rated it 2 of 5 stars

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.

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Jun 16, 2011 Carly Safko rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 dimensions of...more

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Jul 03, 2007 J rated it 5 of 5 stars

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.

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Jul 11, 2008 Stuart rated it 4 of 5 stars

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.

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Jun 28, 2007 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Faulkner and other literary Gothic authors

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.

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Dec 13, 2011 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 to follow the story line as it moved fr...more

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Sep 15, 2007 Katey Parker rated it 5 of 5 stars

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.

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Sep 02, 2010 Infinite Tasks rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 doze...more

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Jan 07, 2009 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars

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.

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Apr 26, 2007 Laura Pee rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 Briggs rated it 1 of 5 stars

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 s...more

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Nov 26, 2008 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars

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.

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Sep 18, 2007 Nate rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: lost souls and bad-mojo hippies

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

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Dec 08, 2009 E. rated it 2 of 5 stars

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 all just ok and co...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Greg D'Avis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wild and tragic, this moves to the center of my shelf for "novels about the modern American West" (kind of a short shelf, yeah). Despite loving "Tree of Smoke," I was surprised at how much I liked this. Nothing was what I expected, all of the (many) characters were impressively fleshed out. One of those rare contemporary novels that taught me something about writing as I read it. This is where Goodreads really needs 4 1/2 stars. The only thing keeping it from five stars was a bit too much room g...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Keith rated it 4 of 5 stars

God, where to begin. Other than to say *possible spoilers*.

Is it possible for one book to be perfectly balanced between addictive and repulsive, lucid and impenetrable? This is my second novel by Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke being the first) and both left me feeling completely hollowed out by the end, which is appropriate for a story that involves the creation and re-animation of empty vessels, empty lives.

I picked up this book in a Pacific Northwest airport, and nearly missed my flight becaus...more God, where to begin. Other than to say *possible spoilers*.

Is it possible for one book to be perfectly balanced between addictive and repulsive, lucid and impenetrable? This is my second novel by Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke being the first) and both left me feeling completely hollowed out by the end, which is appropriate for a story that involves the creation and re-animation of empty vessels, empty lives.

I picked up this book in a Pacific Northwest airport, and nearly missed my flight because I could not stop reading. There was a shock of recognition in that he was spiraling into a part of Northern California that I know and love, and that he had nailed the sense and sweep of it so well that a flood of memories came back almost instantly.

This is not unknown territory for writers, it is almost a complete geographic overlay with Pynchon's Vineland, and perhaps the slightly more southern cousin of Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion. I count both books among my favorites so I figured I was in for roughly more of the same. Eccentric characters with intertwined lives. Desolate towns. Forbidding, beautiful landscape and sense of place.

What I was not expecting was the darkness, the almost operatic sadness that fills nearly every page. Like every good gothic or horror story a few cracks of light break though, but they seem weakened here, almost to reassure the reader that there really is no return from the Lost Coast, at least, not for everyone. And also like all the best, almost a prerequisite for the genre, it has a truly original and charismatic monster in Carl Van Ness.

Johnson is a master at conjoining the obscene and sublime, renderings of ugly truth with the surreal and magical. They are his treble and bass. However, I found the chronological rambling and difficulty of sensing the players in the various interpersonal dialogues to be disorienting. Perhaps this was the intended effect, but I can tell from the 8 months I've spent with this on my bookshelf, nightstand or suitcase that it is not easily left off and returned to. It deserves and rewards your attention and careful scrutiny.

Already Dead is not for everyone. It's not for the casual reader, the squeamish or easily depressed to be certain. It will definitely be coming with me though on my next trip into the dark and wild corners of Northern California.

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Feb 26, 2008 Stacy rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Feb 14, 2008 Ben rated it 5 of 5 stars

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. 101 in Northern C...more

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Feb 16, 2009 Ted Van Hyning rated it 4 of 5 stars

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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Dec 04, 2012 Tyler Collison rated it 5 of 5 stars

A late review, but this book stays fresh in my mind. Much like Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men (but with quotation marks), Denis Johnson constructs a greatly diversified narrative in Already Dead. Featuring an oddball, drug-lagged cast of characters living among the California redwoods, this novel pulls you in nearly as many directions as there are characters, from the supernatural seances of Yvonne to the hapless bounty hunters to the self-involved, paranoid protagonist Nelson Fairchil...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Remy added it

Shelves: 20th-century-lit

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.

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Nov 23, 2010 Jeff rated it 2 of 5 stars

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?fAcc...

...

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 5 of 5 stars

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 the book. Johns...more

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About Denis Johnson

Poet, playwright and author Denis Johnson was born in Munich, West Germany in 1949 and was raised in Tokyo, Manila and Washington. He holds a masters' degree from the University of Iowa and has received many awards for his work, including a Lannan Fellowship in Fiction (1993), a Whiting Writer's Award (1986), the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction from the Paris Review for Train Dreams, and most recently,...more

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Quotes from Already Dead

“I make the road. I draw the map. Nothing just happens to me...I'm the one happening.” — 21 people liked it

“I have the belief in boldness. What I generally lack is the boldness itself.
Because boldness doesn't feel bold. It feels scared not brave.” — 12 people liked it

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