Denis Johnson: Tree of Smoke, Kartoniert / Broschiert

Kurzbeschreibung

Porträts von 4 Personen, die alle auf ganz unterschiedliche Weise für ein Ende ihrer Einsamkeit kämpfen. Patton is a fine character actor. His performances in "A Mighty Heart" and "Inventing the Abbotts" made a notable presence in otherwise unremarkable roles. His reading of Johnson's baroque Vietnam novel, though, will probably not feature highly in future editions of his résumé. Johnson'ss tale of shadowy soldiers and spooks irrevocably changed by the unending war in Southeast Asia is rendered by Patton in a drill sergeant's muscular whisper, complete with carefully rendered impressions of characters - American, Filipino and Vietnamese - some of which verge on parody. The effort and thought put into his reading is clear, but the results are underwhelming, bordering on unpleasant. Twenty-three hours of so mannered a performance begins to grate on the nerves, distracting from Johnson's otherwise engrossing novel.

Klappentext

Tree of Smoke - the name given to a 'psy op' that might or might not be hypothetical and might or might not be officially sanctioned - is Denis Johnson's most gripping, visionary and ambitious work to date. Set in south-east Asia and the US, and spanning two decades, it ostensibly tells the story of Skip Sands, a CIA spy who may or may not be engaged in psychological operations against the Viet Cong -- but also takes the reader on a surreal yet vivid journey, dipping in and out of characters' lives to reveal fundamental truths at the heart of the human condition.

'A Catch-22 for our times' Alan Warner, Books of the Year, Observer

'The God I want to believe in has a voice and a sense of humour like Denis Johnson's' Jonathan Franzen

'An epic of drenched sensuality and absurdly chewable dialogue, as though Don DeLillo and Joseph Heller had collaborated on a Vietnam war novel' Steven Poole, Books of the Year, New Statesman