Tree of Smoke

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, this novel ostensibly tells the story of Skip Sands, a CIA spy who may or may not be engaged in psychological operations against the Viet Cong. However, it also takes readers on a surreal yet vivid journey, dipping in and out of characters’ lives to reveal fundamental truths at the heart of the human condition.

Praise for Tree of Smoke:

• ‘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