I read the first couple stories...

books:


	• Jesus' Son: Stories Denis Johnson Farrar Straus & Giroux (T), 1992 - 160 pages average customer review:based on 94 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Children of loneness

In Denis Johnson's stunning collection of short stories "Jesus' Son", there is an image that stays with you most of the time. This is the picture of loneness and desolation. In one of the best tales, called "Emergency", the main character whose name goes by FH and a friend drive through the country. They eventually find a drive-in. But the weather is awful and there is no one in there - even though there is a movie being played. Johnson's description of this place is the combination of beauty and sadness.

Since the writer has a natural ability to construct both metaphors and harrowing images the scene is depressive and, at the same time, powerful, uplifting. "Famous movie stars rode bicycles beside a river, laughing out their gigantic, lovely mouths. If anybody had come to see this show, they'd left when the weather started. Not one car remained, not even a broken-down on from last week, or one left here because it was out if gas. In a couple of minutes, in the middle of a whirling square dance, the screen turned black, the cinematic summer ended, the snow went dark, there was nothing but my breath'.

But before this, while FH was riding around this deserted part of the world, he though he saw angels - had a vision. This was just Johnson's build up for something stronger, a primal screen for the ending of loneness. The narrator is never still, he is always in motion, and no matter where he goes, he is always surrounded by depressed and depressive souls.

The collection title comes from a Lou Reed's song called "Heroin". Addiction is part of the narrator's life - an important part, it brings people close and tear them apart. While trying to recover - without putting much thought on it - readers have a glimpse of a possibility of a better life, of something less sad and depressive. It is a drop of hope in a nightmare ocean of sadness.

for more information click here

Aimless Days of the Addicted

I read this book for a book club, chosen by our resident High School literature teacher. I read it in two quick sittings, and found it hard to put it down. An easy read, but beautifully written. It makes me want to read more of this author's work. It reminded me a bit of the stories in JUNKY, by William Burroughs, which I think of as quite a compliment.

for more information click here

I read the first couple stories...

More than the actual stories, I think what's most impressive about Johnson's writing is his fragmented approach to time. Consider the first story, "Wreck While Hitchhiking" if you will. While some people may suspect that the prevalence of drugs is an attempt to shock, and thereby gain sales, I suspect that it has more to do with the secret growing casualness society has with narcotics.

I borrowed this book for a night. I was only able to read the first three stories (the first, concerning the wreck was my favorite)but the disorder of timestuck with me. I'd pick up another Denis Johnson book if I come accross it.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

An intense collection of interconnected stories that portray life through the eyes of a young man in a small Iowa town, by the author of Already Dead: A California Gothic, Angels and Resuscitation of a Hanged Man.

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

Short, Not Always Sweet!

stories

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul : 101 Stories of Life, Love and ...
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3)
Phantom
Waiting in Vain
Lonesome Dove

search for books
stories son, jesus, son, stories

Impressum / about us