In its vision of human folly, and its gritty, sympathetic portraits of men and women desperate for an end to their loneliness, whether in sex or death or by the grace of God, this is a story like nothing in our literature. This is also the story of the Houston brothers, Bill and James, young men who drift out of the Arizona desert into a war in which the line between disinformation and delusion has blurred away. A Pulitzer Prize Finalist A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Time Magazine Top 10 of the Year A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year A Washington Post Top 10 Book of the Year A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year A Chicago Tribune Favorite Book of the Year A Seattle Times Favorite Book of the Year A Library Journal Best Book of the Year This is the story of Skip Sandsspy-in-training, engaged in Psychological Operations against the Vietcongand the disasters that befall him thanks to his famous uncle, a war hero known in intelligence circles simply as the Colonel. He is the recipient of a Lannan Fellowship and a Whiting Writers Award, among many other honors for his work. Denis Johnson is the author of five novels, a collection of poetry and one book of reportage.

Tree of Smoke is Denis Johnsons first full-length novel in nine years, and his most gripping, beautiful, and powerful work to date.

Thats me.This is the story of Skip Sandsspy-in-training, engaged in Psychological Operations against the Vietcongand the disasters that befall him thanks to his famous uncle, a war hero known in intelligence circles simply as the Colonel. and a young American who thought of himself as the Quiet American and the Ugly American, and who wished to be neither, who wanted instead to be the Wise American, or the Good American, but who eventually came to witness himself as the Real American and finally as simply the Fucking American.

Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson