Tree of Smoke
Encyclopedia
Tree of Smoke is a 2007 novel by American author Denis Johnson
which won the National Book Award
for fiction
and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
. It is about a man named Skip Sands who joins the CIA in 1965, and begins working in Vietnam
during the American involvement
there. The time frame of the novel is from 1963 to 1970, with a coda
set in 1983. One of the protagonists of Tree of Smoke is Bill Houston, who was the main character in Johnson's debut novel
Angels, published in 1983.
, whose reviewer, Jim Lewis, called the book "a massive thing and something like a masterpiece". Time
magazine's Lev Grossman named it one of the Top 10 Fiction Books of 2007, ranking it at #5. Grossman praised the book as "the most ambitious novel of the year, and one of the greatest."
There are several references in the novel to the title phrase, which has Biblical origins in three cited passages: Song of Solomon
3:6; Book of Joel
2:30, 31; and Exodus 33:9, 10.
Denis Johnson
Denis Hale Johnson is an American author who is known for his short-story collection Jesus' Son and his novel Tree of Smoke , which won the National Book Award. He also writes plays, poetry and non-fiction.- Biography :...
which won the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
for fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
. It is about a man named Skip Sands who joins the CIA in 1965, and begins working in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
during the American involvement
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
there. The time frame of the novel is from 1963 to 1970, with a coda
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
set in 1983. One of the protagonists of Tree of Smoke is Bill Houston, who was the main character in Johnson's debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
Angels, published in 1983.
Plot
Johnson's novel follows eight different characters: CIA agent Skip Sands; Canadian Red Cross worker Kathy Jones; Jimmy Storm, a sergeant and henchman of Colonel Francis Sands; the brothers Bill and James Houston; a South Vietnamese fighter pilot named Minh; Father Carignan, a priest working in the Philippines; and a German assassin named Dietrich Fest.Critical reception
Reviews of the book have been mostly favorable. Tree of Smoke was swiftly cited as one of the Best Books of 2007 by The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, whose reviewer, Jim Lewis, called the book "a massive thing and something like a masterpiece". Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's Lev Grossman named it one of the Top 10 Fiction Books of 2007, ranking it at #5. Grossman praised the book as "the most ambitious novel of the year, and one of the greatest."
There are several references in the novel to the title phrase, which has Biblical origins in three cited passages: Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
3:6; Book of Joel
Book of Joel
The Book of Joel is part of the Hebrew Bible. Joel is part of a group of twelve prophetic books known as the Minor Prophets or simply as The Twelve; the distinction 'minor' indicates the short length of the text in relation to the larger prophetic texts known as the "Major Prophets".-Content:After...
2:30, 31; and Exodus 33:9, 10.
External links
- "The Revelator", by Jim Lewis, The New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, September 2, 2007. - "A Bright Shining Lie", by B. R. Myers, The Atlantic, December 2007.
- Slate magazine Book Club Podcast. Critics Meghan O'RourkeMeghan O'RourkeMeghan O'Rourke is an American poet, critic, and a contributing writer for the online magazine Slate. She is a graduate of Yale. O'Rourke was formerly a fiction editor at The New Yorker and from 2005-2010 was poetry co-editor at The Paris Review...
, Katie RoipheKatie RoipheKatie Roiphe is an American author and journalist. She is best known as the author of the non-fiction examination The Morning After: Fear, Sex and Feminism . She is also the author of Last Night in Paradise: Sex and Morals at the Century's End , and the 2007 study of writers and marriage, Uncommon...
, and James SurowieckiJames SurowieckiJames Michael Surowiecki is an American journalist. He is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he writes a regular column on business and finance called "The Financial Page".-Background:...
discuss the novel Tree of Smoke.