Tree of Smoke

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Once upon a time there was a war . . . 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. That’s me. This is the story o...

在线阅读本书

Once upon a time there was a war . . . 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. That’s me. This is the story of Skip Sands—spy-in-training, engaged in Psychological Operations against the Vietcong—and the disasters that befall him thanks to his famous uncle, a war hero known in intelligence circles simply as the Colonel. 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. 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. Tree of Smoke is Denis Johnson’s first full-length novel in nine years, and his most gripping, beautiful, and powerful work to date.

丹尼斯·约翰逊（1949— ）　生于德国慕尼黑，长于日本、菲律宾和美国，曾获众多文学奖项。根据他的作品《耶稣之子》改编的同名电影被《纽约时报》、《洛杉矶时报》等评为年度十佳电影；《烟树》获2007年美国全国图书奖，并获普利策奖提名。

约翰逊是一个极力避免聚光灯的作家。他没有自己的网站，从不为自己的书作宣传。甚至在全国图书奖颁奖当晚，他都远在伊拉克体验生活。

约翰逊善以后现代主义的笔法描写那些在宏大时代和悲惨命运中痛苦挣扎的灵魂。有人认为，他的作品有一种狂乱和痛苦的美，和陀思妥耶夫斯基笔下的人物一样凄凉，和爱伦·坡一样充满激情，让人恐惧。