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daniwelllived's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I picked this book up purely because of a New Yorker article centering around the first story, "Car Crash While Hitchhiking." Read in one sitting, incredibly raw.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Violence, and Abortion
Minor: Rape
p_t_b's review against another edition
5.0
This was a re-read. I've never really understood what feels like wasted humanity in this book, although the writing and poetic reach are so powerful that it is impossible not to be thrilled. But I think on this third reading I finally feel why Fuckhead et al are constantly stealing, screwing, shooting up. It's all wasted humanity unless you find some way to connect, and this connects, for me at least. Midwestern clouds like great grey brains. Every page has some line that stops me cold, brings across beauty.
kxsak's review against another edition
5.0
I've read all the stories in this book a dozen times each, maybe, but this is only the third time I've read through the thing all at once. It took me just a few hours. That's how fluid Johnson's writing is for me. It just works.
I had a writing professor who used to stress the importance of emulating another writer's style, especially when you're starting out. How to adopt someone's way of making meaning and then to evolve it to your own is something I think about a lot, and for me, my first drafts sound a bit like Johnson.
It's unreal to me that three or four of these stories are simply my favorite short stories ever.
I had a writing professor who used to stress the importance of emulating another writer's style, especially when you're starting out. How to adopt someone's way of making meaning and then to evolve it to your own is something I think about a lot, and for me, my first drafts sound a bit like Johnson.
It's unreal to me that three or four of these stories are simply my favorite short stories ever.
ilman002's review against another edition
4.0
I largely enjoyed this collection of short stories. The language is beautiful and stories are deceptively quiet. The characters are drunks, junkies, addicts who do not "fit in" this world. Denis Johnson gives them a voice and offers short snippets of what it is like to walk in these people's shoes.
doctorwithoutboundaries's review against another edition
5.0
I have no idea how to organise my thoughts on this phantasmagorical book. On the one hand, this collection is an absolute triumph of content, form and structure. On the other, these stories are deeply disturbing and often baffling. It is like [a: Hemingway|1455|Ernest Hemingway|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1406040005p2/1455.jpg] meets [a: Kerouac|1742|Jack Kerouac|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544568646p2/1742.jpg], only much better. While the minimalist narration is reminiscent of Hem, Johnson’s protagonist is pretty much the anti-Nick Adams/Jake Barnes. Fuckhead falls well outside the confines of Papa’s strict code for heroes and, in the bargain, feels more human. It follows that the flashes of poetic grace found amidst Fuckhead’s horrific memories are far more controlled and effective than Kerouac’s meandering philosophical musings. FH’s loneliness and love-longing are redolent of Sal Paradise, but make no mistake—this is not some romantic view of a drug-fuelled spiritual awakening. This is realism so stark, bizarre and shocking that it borders on the surreal, rivalling the beautiful hallucinatory images that fly past. This, in short, is the American Nightmare, distilled into eleven stories that render impotent all the superlative adjectives that I can throw at them, jeering as I attempt to analyse the indescribable.
And yet, I must read it again and try; I owe the book that much.
And yet, I must read it again and try; I owe the book that much.
gallienw's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
eric_peartree's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kayleigh214's review
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
trve_zach's review against another edition
Johnson is one of those guys who makes it (writing) seem so easy that even reading this mostly hopeless and depressing-as-fuck book is enjoyable as hell