Jason’s review of Tree of Smoke > Likes and Comments
203 likes · Like
I have a copy of this on my bookshelf, and will be anxiously awaiting your review in order to determine how quickly I read it. Wow, I just gave you a lot of power.
Kristi, I'm trying to catch up for a decade of not reading (being in the military, flying, deploying, training, 3 kids under 6), and so I concocted this theory that if I read all the Nationl Book Awards, Pulitzer winners, and some of the highly rated books on Goodreads, then, THEN, I would be reading the best literature out there. This formula backfired on Tree of Smoke. I pride myself with pushing through books until the brutal end, but Johnson's way of storytelling is not kosher with my style of reading. I'm close to abandoning. I'll let you know either way.
Here's one of my rare unfinished novels:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Unless his style is quite different in this one, I must say that it would not deter me. I devoured and absolutely loved Jesus' Son. Have you read that one? Did it also not quite rev your engine?
Haven't read Jesus' Son, but with twice the number of ratings on GR, and a much higher average, I probably should switch TOS with JS, huh?
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that you should...not to mention, it is easily 1/5th the size of Tree of Smoke.
the story can be written as an outgrowth of the zany and clandestine techniques used by the PsyOps soldiers.
Oooooooooo dear. I like his writing about junkies, but this sounds terrible.
I tried reading this a couple of times over the past year-and-a-half, and just couldn't do it. I finally gave it away in the GR bookswap. I thought it was awful! Your review is spot-on, Jason!
Way to push through. It really takes integrity when a book sucks.
Great review, Binks, but... but...
...you made the plural of colloquialism by adding an apostrophe-s. I can't tell you how much this wounds me--verily breaks my fragile heart.
David, since you've already called me out as a 'revisionist' on another thread, I've corrected the punctuation error for your reading pleasure. Spot on, DK, spot on!!!!!
Phillip, I'm a glutton for punishment. There's like only 3-4 books in my life that I've never finished. I ain't lettin' no stinkin' 1-star ruin that outstanding measure.
Christopher, giving it away on bookswap implies that you owned it; owning it implies that you bought it; ho, ho, ho...are you the sucker :(
You had me at sexual relations. And again at water bong.
Great review. The only thing I've read from this author is Nobody Move (which I liked well enough -- it mentions Bakersfield, the sister city to Valletta, the capital of Malta).
I can't believe you forged on. I used to be particular about finishing a book after starting it, but have managed to convince myself over the last few years that I'm sophisticated enough to gnaw off an arm in order to escape the trap.
Which reminds me: anyone interested in a job as a page turner for an armless despot?
I'm still a book finisher as well, but my sister is always telling me, "you don't owe the author anything." She takes it to the other extreme. She'll read 2 pages, and if it doesn't grab her, she'll give it one star. ...
@ Esteban: good luck with the page turning. I'm sure somebody could invent you a robot.
Esteban, if you were a real man, you could turn that page!! I've been to Valletta twice, and I saw no-armed men juggle and fish.
Jason, you're right -- I did buy it. The bloody book won a National Book Award! What a joke! I read half of it three times (the first half, I might add), and realized after the third time that the award was completely misguided. I reached a point (and not the same point, mind you) where the novel really just became a jumble of crap. I am 54 years old, and I had to ask myself, "Why waste the time?"
I posted it for swap in Goodread's Bookswap feature. Best decision I ever made.
Moira, there you go. Read and heed Christopher at message 14. It's a better review than mine.
I've got to learn to let go...life's too short.
Bravo on this review, but don't give up on Denis Johnson. You should at least read Jesus' Son. Everyone should.
Jason wrote: "Esteban, if you were a real man, you could turn that page!! I've been to Valletta twice, and I saw no-armed men juggle and fish."
Kind Sir. We Maltese are an adaptive bunch.
Most probably you saw the previous Page Turners. Perchance, did you espy one with a limp, deformed ear and scarring about the neck? That would be Frank. He introduced me to Gregory Maguire and Daniel Quinn. He's lucky to be alive.
I gave Tree of Smoke a wide berth. I enjoyed Johnson's shorts collection, Jesus' Son, so much that I didn't want to ruin things. I do that sometimes and I know it's equivalent to the ostrich sticking its head in the sand and assuming that has changed matters in its immediate surroundings, but there you have it. Big books by short story specialists scare me. And they reek of trying too hard. And I should shut up because I haven't read the book and am in no position to judge, but I just wanted to compliment you on that book you wrote, How to Win the National Book Award for Dummies! I could use it myself (among a few other things) and will take some Cornell notes immediately.
Krokodil, Newengland,
Copy that. I'll try Jesus' Son. But if that one sucks, I'm going to break out the never before seen HALF-STAR rating.
Jason wrote: "Kristi, I'm trying to catch up for a decade of not reading (being in the military, flying, deploying, training, 3 kids under 6), and so I concocted this theory that if I read all the Nationl Book A..."
Hi, I suggest reading the Man Booker prize winners. I've never been disappointed with them.
Finding this thread may save me further agony. I've been trying to "get into" Tree of Smoke and just don't seem to be able to do it. I'm on page 100 and nothing has happened. Thank-you for validating that it's not just me.
Crystal, I'm OCD about finishing books...only ever stopped reading 3 or 4. I should have made this the 5th.
You will miss nothing if you stop right now, the book is no different all the way to the end. There are way too many books out there to replace those 500 unread pages.
You had a nice concept there until you started throwing the kitchen sink into it. Sex scenes and violence and character deaths are hardly unique to NBA recipients. They dilute the original great point about awards always going to "epic" books with multiple characters over multiple years in a time of national fetishism.
Or, perhaps this review is simply a clever way to avoid reading a challenging, interesting book, which was far from universally appreciated by critics. This is a real keeper. First of all, you seem to think that it is a criticism that the text is 614 pages, which is a new on in the annals of even the most absurdist lit crit, I've run across. Moreover,our commentator places what I would suggest is an inordinate importance on chapter titles, complaining that they are indicated only by date. Hell, half of the books in history don't have individual chapter titles. The story line is too complex for our adviser and bell-weather for great American literature. In short, what Johnson fails to do is to write yet another piece of insipid American realism or psychological variation thereof. He refuses to be Johnathon Franzen or even Michael Chabon, brilliant as the latter in particular is, neither is a very innovative story teller from the point of view of the supremacy of paradox and the impetus of the ironic in our lives, which is nothing less than to say that they are happy elaborating the more quotidian surface truth of life, without digging into any spots, which may constitute ontological challenges for the readers of their texts. In fact, I believe that I have found the rub, as the saying goes: this book challenges the reader in ways that said reader does not appreciate being challenged. Moreoever, it serves as the perfect counter-example of your assertion that major awards are consistently given to epic books, unless what you intend by epic is that it is more than 250 pages, in which case, I would suggest that the next book you read be the dictionary. Tree of Smoke is precisely the opposite of the traditional American realistic epic attempt to write the perfect bourgeoisie novel. There is nothing epic about the style of the text. In fact, it devolves ever further into the particular, so that, once finished, what one ends up with is not some small group of prototypes to stand in for the various virtues and vices of human existence, but a hodge-podge of more or less unrelated characters who are struggling to decide what to do, having been stripped of the mythology, which they created around Houstoun. You see, it's far easier to create facile mythological structures than it is to actually sit down and take up the challenge to read something different. For God's sake don't dare try to read Murakami; you'll throw an annurism. I'll bet that you'd accuse him of employing entirely fictional characters as if they were true representations of American popular culture, reminding us all along that Col. Sanders was simply a po' boy who threw some spices together, not a pimp, now residing in Japan in possession of a particular secret, which must be delivered to a man who speaks with cats and predicts weather in order to save Chicken Little from having to sale her tail feathers, which would pervert children far and wide. (Sorry, decided not to say any more about the critique of Col. Sanders, but will affirm that he is pimpin' large in Japan.
In short, your anti-review served a great many, as is made clear by those who employed it as a "reason" not to read a book, which is not their traditional hold your hand, let me tell you a story in which a leads to b, which leads to c, and then you cry, laugh, fall in love, out of love, and finally after the dialectical mediation of the failure of the American imagination, become stoic about the fact that you couldn't have done any better than you did after all. "you're a good man, Charlie Brown." The only thing worse than a good conscience is the one who encourages it. Sorry, but this is total shit!
I completely agree with your review. I am a book finisher, no matter what, and I was even willing to forgive Johnson after it took 300 pages to get into any kind of action. But after reading the next 300 pages and realizing he was just writing to writing endlessly without actually making any solid point, I just want it to end. But my borderline OCD won't let me abandon it.
I just wanted to say thanks for your review. Every so often, I'm ashamed of my opinion of award-winning and/or popular novels because I feel like I'm in the minority so maybe I just didn't get the point. Your review served as a sort of sanity check for me. It's nice to know I wasn't the only one who felt that way.
Rusty's rant here is pretty great. It was almost as enjoyable to read as the book.
I know, right. I think he's the kind of guy that feels awkward around people at a cocktail party, then suddenly blurts out something to feel included, but everyone raises their eyebrows and moves away from him.
I notice you awarded 1 star, and he awards nothing.
And how reliable can he be with 740 ratings and a 4.07 average? I don't take you seriously until you're down around 3.5.
I did not have the ultimate displeasure of reading the entire book, but instead listened to the entire book, and I'm still trying to get that smoky gooky substance out of my ears. I was surprised each day when I actually made it to work, as the book had me utterly lost.
Why do the goodreads trolls always get the top slot on the comments list I wonder? I guess a better question is why we enable such morons to gift us with their myopic, poorly conceived reviews of little worth.
I haven't read the book, the review was bitter but very entertaining. I think we could make this kind of list for so many of the books that are best sellers, prize winners, or even just our favorite books. I did find myself mistrusting the reviewer when he wrote, "It's an extremely 'forgetful' book." I don't think books are forgetful, unless they are magical. "Forgettable, perhaps?"
50 pages in. "Train dreams" was wonderful--curious how this stacks up.
Your review makes me want to read it even more now, so thanks, I guess!
maybe you should stick to the one or two writers you sort of appreciate....
Amen brother! You nailed it. I thought I was the only one that thought these devices were becoming overused. I’m going to write a novel. First, I’ll write a meticulous outline defining theme, conflict, character development, and sequence. Then I’ll run it through the paper shredder, throw away half and paste the rest together in random order.
Never seen such a hateful review for a book before. I just bought it and wondered what people thought of it. I liked Jesus' Son. I assume you're not a fan of Denis Johnson (sarcasm). If you believe you write better than a National Book Award Winner then I can't wait to read your novel. Your review comes off as spiteful, bitter and envious.
Lucas, get back to us after you read the book.
Damn, father and son? Pagan god? Did u read this book?
I agree with your review 100%. I love Denis Johnson but he really blew this one. How could a National Book Award winner be so bad?
I couldn't get into this book at all. Guess it's not just me!
I like your review but I am going to read it anyway.
Masterpiece. The novel, that is. Reviews like yours is the main reason I hate myself for using apps like Goodreads and Letterboxed! Snarky, ironic, snotty and entitled bullshit.
back to top
message 1:
by
Paquita Maria
(new)
May 24, 2010 07:10AM
I have a copy of this on my bookshelf, and will be anxiously awaiting your review in order to determine how quickly I read it. Wow, I just gave you a lot of power.
reply
|
flag
Kristi, I'm trying to catch up for a decade of not reading (being in the military, flying, deploying, training, 3 kids under 6), and so I concocted this theory that if I read all the Nationl Book Awards, Pulitzer winners, and some of the highly rated books on Goodreads, then, THEN, I would be reading the best literature out there. This formula backfired on Tree of Smoke. I pride myself with pushing through books until the brutal end, but Johnson's way of storytelling is not kosher with my style of reading. I'm close to abandoning. I'll let you know either way.Here's one of my rare unfinished novels:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Unless his style is quite different in this one, I must say that it would not deter me. I devoured and absolutely loved Jesus' Son. Have you read that one? Did it also not quite rev your engine?
Haven't read Jesus' Son, but with twice the number of ratings on GR, and a much higher average, I probably should switch TOS with JS, huh?
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that you should...not to mention, it is easily 1/5th the size of Tree of Smoke.
the story can be written as an outgrowth of the zany and clandestine techniques used by the PsyOps soldiers. Oooooooooo dear. I like his writing about junkies, but this sounds terrible.
I tried reading this a couple of times over the past year-and-a-half, and just couldn't do it. I finally gave it away in the GR bookswap. I thought it was awful! Your review is spot-on, Jason!
Way to push through. It really takes integrity when a book sucks.
Great review, Binks, but... but......you made the plural of colloquialism by adding an apostrophe-s. I can't tell you how much this wounds me--verily breaks my fragile heart.
David, since you've already called me out as a 'revisionist' on another thread, I've corrected the punctuation error for your reading pleasure. Spot on, DK, spot on!!!!!Phillip, I'm a glutton for punishment. There's like only 3-4 books in my life that I've never finished. I ain't lettin' no stinkin' 1-star ruin that outstanding measure.
Christopher, giving it away on bookswap implies that you owned it; owning it implies that you bought it; ho, ho, ho...are you the sucker :(
You had me at sexual relations. And again at water bong.Great review. The only thing I've read from this author is Nobody Move (which I liked well enough -- it mentions Bakersfield, the sister city to Valletta, the capital of Malta).
I can't believe you forged on. I used to be particular about finishing a book after starting it, but have managed to convince myself over the last few years that I'm sophisticated enough to gnaw off an arm in order to escape the trap.
Which reminds me: anyone interested in a job as a page turner for an armless despot?
I'm still a book finisher as well, but my sister is always telling me, "you don't owe the author anything." She takes it to the other extreme. She'll read 2 pages, and if it doesn't grab her, she'll give it one star. ...@ Esteban: good luck with the page turning. I'm sure somebody could invent you a robot.
Esteban, if you were a real man, you could turn that page!! I've been to Valletta twice, and I saw no-armed men juggle and fish.
Jason, you're right -- I did buy it. The bloody book won a National Book Award! What a joke! I read half of it three times (the first half, I might add), and realized after the third time that the award was completely misguided. I reached a point (and not the same point, mind you) where the novel really just became a jumble of crap. I am 54 years old, and I had to ask myself, "Why waste the time?"I posted it for swap in Goodread's Bookswap feature. Best decision I ever made.
Moira, there you go. Read and heed Christopher at message 14. It's a better review than mine.I've got to learn to let go...life's too short.
Bravo on this review, but don't give up on Denis Johnson. You should at least read Jesus' Son. Everyone should.
Jason wrote: "Esteban, if you were a real man, you could turn that page!! I've been to Valletta twice, and I saw no-armed men juggle and fish."Kind Sir. We Maltese are an adaptive bunch.
Most probably you saw the previous Page Turners. Perchance, did you espy one with a limp, deformed ear and scarring about the neck? That would be Frank. He introduced me to Gregory Maguire and Daniel Quinn. He's lucky to be alive.
I gave Tree of Smoke a wide berth. I enjoyed Johnson's shorts collection, Jesus' Son, so much that I didn't want to ruin things. I do that sometimes and I know it's equivalent to the ostrich sticking its head in the sand and assuming that has changed matters in its immediate surroundings, but there you have it. Big books by short story specialists scare me. And they reek of trying too hard. And I should shut up because I haven't read the book and am in no position to judge, but I just wanted to compliment you on that book you wrote, How to Win the National Book Award for Dummies! I could use it myself (among a few other things) and will take some Cornell notes immediately.
Krokodil, Newengland,Copy that. I'll try Jesus' Son. But if that one sucks, I'm going to break out the never before seen HALF-STAR rating.
Jason wrote: "Kristi, I'm trying to catch up for a decade of not reading (being in the military, flying, deploying, training, 3 kids under 6), and so I concocted this theory that if I read all the Nationl Book A..."Hi, I suggest reading the Man Booker prize winners. I've never been disappointed with them.
Finding this thread may save me further agony. I've been trying to "get into" Tree of Smoke and just don't seem to be able to do it. I'm on page 100 and nothing has happened. Thank-you for validating that it's not just me.
Crystal, I'm OCD about finishing books...only ever stopped reading 3 or 4. I should have made this the 5th.You will miss nothing if you stop right now, the book is no different all the way to the end. There are way too many books out there to replace those 500 unread pages.
You had a nice concept there until you started throwing the kitchen sink into it. Sex scenes and violence and character deaths are hardly unique to NBA recipients. They dilute the original great point about awards always going to "epic" books with multiple characters over multiple years in a time of national fetishism.
Or, perhaps this review is simply a clever way to avoid reading a challenging, interesting book, which was far from universally appreciated by critics. This is a real keeper. First of all, you seem to think that it is a criticism that the text is 614 pages, which is a new on in the annals of even the most absurdist lit crit, I've run across. Moreover,our commentator places what I would suggest is an inordinate importance on chapter titles, complaining that they are indicated only by date. Hell, half of the books in history don't have individual chapter titles. The story line is too complex for our adviser and bell-weather for great American literature. In short, what Johnson fails to do is to write yet another piece of insipid American realism or psychological variation thereof. He refuses to be Johnathon Franzen or even Michael Chabon, brilliant as the latter in particular is, neither is a very innovative story teller from the point of view of the supremacy of paradox and the impetus of the ironic in our lives, which is nothing less than to say that they are happy elaborating the more quotidian surface truth of life, without digging into any spots, which may constitute ontological challenges for the readers of their texts. In fact, I believe that I have found the rub, as the saying goes: this book challenges the reader in ways that said reader does not appreciate being challenged. Moreoever, it serves as the perfect counter-example of your assertion that major awards are consistently given to epic books, unless what you intend by epic is that it is more than 250 pages, in which case, I would suggest that the next book you read be the dictionary. Tree of Smoke is precisely the opposite of the traditional American realistic epic attempt to write the perfect bourgeoisie novel. There is nothing epic about the style of the text. In fact, it devolves ever further into the particular, so that, once finished, what one ends up with is not some small group of prototypes to stand in for the various virtues and vices of human existence, but a hodge-podge of more or less unrelated characters who are struggling to decide what to do, having been stripped of the mythology, which they created around Houstoun. You see, it's far easier to create facile mythological structures than it is to actually sit down and take up the challenge to read something different. For God's sake don't dare try to read Murakami; you'll throw an annurism. I'll bet that you'd accuse him of employing entirely fictional characters as if they were true representations of American popular culture, reminding us all along that Col. Sanders was simply a po' boy who threw some spices together, not a pimp, now residing in Japan in possession of a particular secret, which must be delivered to a man who speaks with cats and predicts weather in order to save Chicken Little from having to sale her tail feathers, which would pervert children far and wide. (Sorry, decided not to say any more about the critique of Col. Sanders, but will affirm that he is pimpin' large in Japan. In short, your anti-review served a great many, as is made clear by those who employed it as a "reason" not to read a book, which is not their traditional hold your hand, let me tell you a story in which a leads to b, which leads to c, and then you cry, laugh, fall in love, out of love, and finally after the dialectical mediation of the failure of the American imagination, become stoic about the fact that you couldn't have done any better than you did after all. "you're a good man, Charlie Brown." The only thing worse than a good conscience is the one who encourages it. Sorry, but this is total shit!
I completely agree with your review. I am a book finisher, no matter what, and I was even willing to forgive Johnson after it took 300 pages to get into any kind of action. But after reading the next 300 pages and realizing he was just writing to writing endlessly without actually making any solid point, I just want it to end. But my borderline OCD won't let me abandon it.
I just wanted to say thanks for your review. Every so often, I'm ashamed of my opinion of award-winning and/or popular novels because I feel like I'm in the minority so maybe I just didn't get the point. Your review served as a sort of sanity check for me. It's nice to know I wasn't the only one who felt that way.
Rusty's rant here is pretty great. It was almost as enjoyable to read as the book.
I know, right. I think he's the kind of guy that feels awkward around people at a cocktail party, then suddenly blurts out something to feel included, but everyone raises their eyebrows and moves away from him.I notice you awarded 1 star, and he awards nothing.
And how reliable can he be with 740 ratings and a 4.07 average? I don't take you seriously until you're down around 3.5.
I did not have the ultimate displeasure of reading the entire book, but instead listened to the entire book, and I'm still trying to get that smoky gooky substance out of my ears. I was surprised each day when I actually made it to work, as the book had me utterly lost.
Why do the goodreads trolls always get the top slot on the comments list I wonder? I guess a better question is why we enable such morons to gift us with their myopic, poorly conceived reviews of little worth.
I haven't read the book, the review was bitter but very entertaining. I think we could make this kind of list for so many of the books that are best sellers, prize winners, or even just our favorite books. I did find myself mistrusting the reviewer when he wrote, "It's an extremely 'forgetful' book." I don't think books are forgetful, unless they are magical. "Forgettable, perhaps?"
50 pages in. "Train dreams" was wonderful--curious how this stacks up.
Your review makes me want to read it even more now, so thanks, I guess!
maybe you should stick to the one or two writers you sort of appreciate....
Amen brother! You nailed it. I thought I was the only one that thought these devices were becoming overused. I’m going to write a novel. First, I’ll write a meticulous outline defining theme, conflict, character development, and sequence. Then I’ll run it through the paper shredder, throw away half and paste the rest together in random order.
Never seen such a hateful review for a book before. I just bought it and wondered what people thought of it. I liked Jesus' Son. I assume you're not a fan of Denis Johnson (sarcasm). If you believe you write better than a National Book Award Winner then I can't wait to read your novel. Your review comes off as spiteful, bitter and envious.
Lucas, get back to us after you read the book.
Great writing is about great language, and this one was packed with it. You either are on the language side or the plot side. One must pick :-)
Damn, father and son? Pagan god? Did u read this book?
I agree with your review 100%. I love Denis Johnson but he really blew this one. How could a National Book Award winner be so bad?
I couldn't get into this book at all. Guess it's not just me!
I like your review but I am going to read it anyway.
Masterpiece. The novel, that is. Reviews like yours is the main reason I hate myself for using apps like Goodreads and Letterboxed! Snarky, ironic, snotty and entitled bullshit.
