A review by nickreallylovestoread
Fiskadoro by Denis Johnson

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

This book could have been about 150 pages longer. It's a strange feeling reading this, as the ending feels random, like Johnson decided one day to stop this project, and ended it that day. Fiskadoro is a dark, post-apocalyptical novel about a young boy's journey through multiple walks of life in a new civilization after a nuclear holocaust. Like his other works, Johnson excels at examining character, and Marie, Mr. Cheung's mother, is my personal favorite in this story. If you read Train Dreams and thought the main character's reclusive nature needed a tropical setting, then check this out. There's some great prose here, but plot-wise didn't do it for me.