Tree of Smoke: A Novel | List Price: $16.00
Discount Price: $8.93
|
Binding: Paperback
Release Date: 2008-09-02
A Bright and Shining Truth [Posted on 2008-10-15]
I've been a fan of Johnson for some time now. To me Johnson is the American Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Tree of Smoke struck me as quite a bit better than his earlier books (those that I read anyway.) Johnson has always attempted to inject philosophical and religious points into his narratives and in his past works it was done rather awkwardly and unrealistically (e.g., the hit-man quoting Nietzsche in Already Dead.) But in Tree of Smoke he gets it right, the characters spiritual and philosophical underpinnings are woven seamlessly into the plot and make for an incredibly rich experience. The multitude of characters from very diverse backgrounds provide a wealth of different perspectives on life and faith. I especially appreciated that some of the main characters were Vietnamese. (I find that most American's are so self absorbed they can talk about the Vietnam War for hours and never mention the Vietnamese.)
Also, I have to mention that the softcover edition's binding is fantastic. I was easily able to hold the book splayed open with one hand.
Not A Vietnam Novel [Posted on 2008-10-18]
I picked up this novel because I thought it was about Vietnam. As it turns out, it was this author's fantasy of his presumption of Vietnam. I also thought he had been to Vietnam, and it turns out that he was not. Aside from some obvious errors (he names F-16 aircraft which did not exist), this is a pretentious acid trip novel. To be sure, there are moments of odd, almost mystical writing, but they are well buried in page after page of the dense quagmire of this author's mind.
As a bit of fantasy nonsense, this is adequate, but it is hardly any definitive story about the Vietnam war. I noticed it was lauded by major critics, who knowing nothing about Vietnam, jumped aboard this yellow submarine with Johnson and presumed they were being taken for a truth ride.
As a weird fantasy trip, this novel is an interesting time-waster. As anything serious, its a waste of time.
"War and Peace" for the United States [Posted on 2008-10-27]
Judging from the distribution of reviews, most people either love "Tree of Smoke" or hate it. I loved it. In fact, it's the best contemporary novel I've read in years.
Like "War and Peace," "Tree of Smoke" examines both the universals of human life and a war that transformed the nations involved. TOS sweeps over 20 years -- covering the war from 1963 to '70, with a denouement in 1983 -- and shows us the experience through the lives of CIA agents, enlisted men, Western humanitarians, and South Vietnamese. One of its themes is America's confusion in Southeast Asia, but saying so really does injustice to Johnson's accomplishment. TOS is moving and disturbing as only the best literature can be.
Bloated [Posted on 2008-11-17]
What a long-winded novel that has been falsely praised. These character are flat, poorly written, and offer no degree of complexity. I would hope this is not America's finest writer for we are in big trouble if it is. If you want a novel that reveals the complicated world of Vietnam, read The Things They Carried.
Long, tedious, sad, angry and confusing. It was awful! [Posted on 2008-11-20]
I can't resist novels about Vietnam. And this 1997 book had absolutely rave reviews. It even won the National Book Award. Reviewers called it a masterpiece. I just HAD to read it. Now, 702 pages later, I'm sorry I did. This book was just plain awful. And the only satisfaction I got out of slogging through this long and tedious read is to be able to review it and say, "well - I tried".
The book starts in 1963 and spans about 20 years. During this time we see various characters go through their sad lives. There's Skip who is a CIA agent. There's his uncle who's a colonel, a war hero who's something like the part Marlon Brando played in Apocalypse Now. There are two Vietnamese men, one from the north and one from the south, who become part of the covert operations. There are two young brothers in the American army who just can't make it in the outside world. There's a Canadian nurse who provides a bit of romance for Skip. There are other characters too, all of them sad and angry. That's actually the theme of the book - sad and angry.
The most characteristic thing about the book though is that it is confusing. I found it impossible to follow the plot. And all the characters seemed to blend together and I kept mixing up who was who. There are no bad guys and no good guys either. Everyone here is a loser. Reading this book is a downer. I hated it.
Despite the rave reviews of the critics I cannot recommend this book at all. If you attempt to read it, don't say I didn't warn you.
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
){kind=link}