Denis Johnson is a fantastic writer. After having read Jesus' Son and The Name of the World, it was almost impossible not to pick up Tree of Smoke (Picador, 2008). The novel takes place during Vietnam, jumping forward in time and centering around a handful of characters who share the spotlight. CIA operative Skip Sands believes strongly in his mission in Vietnam, even if he's not quite sure what that mission really is; likewise, Kathy Jones, his occasional lover, doesn't really know for sure what purpose she has in Vietnam. When these two characters aren't spending their time wallowing around waiting for things to happen, Johnson moves over to a pair of brothers in the army, Bill and James Houston, who deal with the Vietnam war on its most visceral level.
Expect Lots of Dialogue
A hundred pages reads fast when entire pages of dialogue consist only of handfuls of words and single sentences. Some the dialogue works well, some of it doesn't. Sometimes, it takes a second read to figure out who's talking. Sometimes, it doesn't matter. A number of the secondary characters aren't particularly fleshed out, and readers might find themselves not caring much about who's talking merely because the secondary characters lack any connection to the reader.
Expect Nothing Original
Two of the best stories taking place in Vietnam are Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried and Graham Greene's The Quiet American. They're original, which is what gives them so much staying power. But Tree of Smoke isn't like those novels. Sure, it has its original moments, and the inner workings of the CIA throughout Vietnam adds a lot to the story. But overall, readers who have picked up more than a couple Vietnam stories won't find anything here that adds exciting new layers to the story.
Perhaps the only truly original aspect of Johnson's novel is his writing itself, which can be both poetic and harsh in such a way that it seems fitting for a setting like the Vietnam jungle. But just because Johnson is a great writer doesn't save the storyline from its convoluted side-plots and mysterious characters.
Expect to Put the Book Down
Kudos to any reader who slogs through Johnson's 600-page magnum opus and manages to take something from it. His story demands a patient reader, one willing to slog through the swamps of Vietnam, ignoring characters and plots in order to get to some sort of greater truth that may or may not exist at all. It's hard to imagine a novel about Iraq or Afghanistan hasn't come along yet and provided readers with a more timely examination of Vietnam's newest incarnation.
Ken Brosky - Ken Brosky's first novel was published in fall 2007. He has more than a dozen short stories published in magazines including Skyline and ...
