Denis Johnson was an acclaimed poet, playwright, and novelist celebrated for his raw and emotionally resonant prose. His work frequently delved into themes of faith, loss, and the search for redemption in the harsh, liminal spaces of American life. Johnson masterfully captured the voices and experiences of those living on the fringes of society with empathy and sharp insight. His writing, often imbued with poetic language and existential inquiry, left an indelible mark on contemporary literature.
"Jesus' Son "is a visionary chronicle of dreamers, addicts, and lost souls. These stories tell of spiraling grief and trancendence, of rock bottom and redemption, of getting lost an dfound and lost again. The raw beauty and careening energy of Denis Johnson's prose has earned this book a place among the classics of twentieth-century American literature.
The Largesse of the Sea Maiden is the long-awaited new story collection from Denis Johnson, author of the groundbreaking, highly acclaimed Jesus? Son. Written in the same luminous prose, this collection finds Johnson in new territory, contemplating mortality, the ghosts of the past, and the elusive and unexpected ways the mysteries of the universe assert themselves. Finished shortly before Johnson?s death, this collection is the last word from a writer whose work will live on for many years to come.
So begins a stunning, tragic odyssey through the dark underbelly of America - the bars, bus stations, mental wards and prisons that play host to Jamie and Bill as they find themselves trapped in a downward spiral though rape, alcohol, drugs and crime, to madness and death. číst celé
Robert Grainier is a day labourer in the American West at the start of the twentieth century - an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainier struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime. Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West - its otherworldly flora and fauna, its rugged loggers and bridge-builders - Train Dreams captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life.
The author's writing is characterized by a fervent intensity that transforms ordinary experiences into profound revelations. The narrative blends elements of fear, beauty, and ecstasy, showcasing a unique ability to distill complex emotions into their purest form. This powerful prose evokes strong reactions, making readers feel deeply engaged and even unsettled. The book promises a compelling exploration of life that resonates on both an emotional and intellectual level.
In 1984 Nicaragua, an American woman navigates a treacherous landscape filled with passion, fear, and betrayal. Her true identity remains ambiguous—she may be a reporter or a contact for an anti-war group. As she embarks on a tumultuous affair with a rough English businessman, they find themselves ensnared in dangerous conspiracies and corruption. Their relationship intensifies as they attempt a desperate escape, leading to a critical turning point in their connection amidst the chaos surrounding them.
'In a class with those great, dark sweeping novels of madness and decay, Moby Dick and Dracula' Patrick McGrath
In this anthology, 26 writers illuminate the motivations at the heart of their creative lives in original essays that are as surprising and varied as their fiction. The contributors include Pat Conroy, Norman Mailor, Rick Moody and David Foster Wallace.
"Denis Johnson is an artist. He writes with a natural authority, and there is real music in his prose."--Mona Simpson, "The New York Times Book Review" In the bleak of November, Lenny English drifts into the Cape Cod resort of Provincetown. Recovering from a recent suicide attempt, his soul suspended in its own off-season, he takes a job as a third-shift disk jockey, with a little private detective work on the side for his boss. As Lenny falls in love with a beautiful young local, a woman whose sexual orientation should preclude the affair, he soon begins his first assignment, a search for a missing painter whose personal history seems to mirror his own. In pursuit of the artist--and love, and redemption--Lenny will resort to great and desperate measures to revive himself, and his faith in the world.
The lives of Skip Sands, a spy-in-training engaged in psychological operations against the Vietcong, and brothers Bill and James Houston, young men who drift out of the Arizona desert into a war, intertwine in a novel of America during the Vietnam War
âe~In this land of chaos and despair, all I can do is wish for magic armour and the power to disappear.âe(tm) Freetown, Sierra Leone. A city of heat and dirt, of guns and militia. Alone in its crowded streets, Captain Roland Nair has been given a single assignment. He must find Michael Adriko âe" maverick, warrior, and the man who has saved Nair's life three times and risked it many more. The two men have schemed, fought and profited together in the most hostile regions of the world. But on this new level âe" espionage, state secrets, treason âe" their loyalties will be tested to the limit. This is a brutal journey through a land abandoned by the future âe" a journey that will lead them to meet themselves not in a new light, but in a new darkness.
And they wait - for the Cubans to come, for the Quarantine to be lifted, for the god Quetzalcoatl, the god Bob Marley, the god Jesus to return and build their kingdoms. schovat popis
'Johnson's jokes are wonderfully deadpan and copious' --Times Literary Supplement 'This is a staccato romp, as violent as Tarantino and a great deal funnier than Cormac McCarthy's psychotic ballet, No Country for Old Men' --Irish Times 'Beyond its ferocious action, noisy gun-play and relentless wisecracking there [is] also a poetic understanding of a bleak, inhospitable world.' --Uncut's top 10 best fiction of the year --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Blicke in den Abgrund der Welt
Kontinent der Dunkelheit Drei Reportagen über afrikanischen Kriegsschauplätze, die der Autor im Auftrag der Zeitschrift „New Yorker“ bereist hat – In diesen erschütternden Berichten aus Ländern, in denen nur der Tod, der Müll und das Recht des Stärkeren herrschen, erkundet Denis Johnson einen verlorenen Kontinent und die Abgründe der menschlichen Seele. Von schockierender Klarheit ist er dabei auch und vor allem im Hinblick auf die eigene Rolle. Diese Erzählungen vom Verlust der äußeren und inneren Zivilisation sind ein Höhepunkt im Schaffen des Autors. „Warum, wird man in hundert Jahren sagen, haben nicht früher alle Schriftsteller so hart recherchiert und so unaffektiert, unliterarisch-literarisch geschrieben wie dieser Wirklichkeitsfanatiker Johnson?“ (Maxim Biller, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung)
Questa è una storia di guerra, la guerra combattuta dagli americani in Vietnam. È la storia di William "Skip" Sands - agente della cia, programma Psychological Operations contro i vietcong - e delle vicende disastrose che gli toccano in sorte. È anche la storia dei fratelli Houston, Bill e James, giovani poveri e disadattati che scivolano, senza quasi averne coscienza, dal deserto dell'Arizona fin dentro un conflitto elusivo, dai confini indistinti. È poi la storia del colonnello Francis Xavier Sands, zio di Skip, cattolico praticante, studente a Notre Dame, campione di football, eroe della Seconda guerra mondiale, scheggia impazzita negli alti ranghi della cia. Ed è infine la storia di Kathy Jones, moglie di un missionario protestante assassinato nelle Filippine, amante di Skip Sands, irriducibile angelo laico in un'organizzazione che si occupa di orfani vietnamiti in circostanze impossibili. Nessuna di queste storie, come si può facilmente immaginare, prevede un lieto fine tradizionale. Ma nessuna è segnata dalla disperazione assoluta.
Sommer 1990: Mendocino heißt die einsame nordkalifornische Küstenregion, wo die Aussteiger, Schamanen und Paranoiker siedeln. Obwohl seit Wochen kein Regen gefallen ist, hält sich dichter Nebel über den steilen Kliffs und in den Märchenwäldern der Redwoods. In dieser Einöde taucht der Exmatrose Van Ness auf, der einen Platz sucht, um seinem ziellosen Dasein ein Ende zu setzen. Doch ein Drogenfarmer fischt den Lebensmüden aus der See und schlägt ihm einen Deal vor: Van Ness räumt seine Frau aus dem Weg; als Lohn winken 10000 Dollar und der elektrische Stuhl. Aber der «schon Tote» durchkreuzt diesen Plan. «Schon tot ist ein Buch von Feuer und Schwefel, so leuchtend und kühn, wie man es aus Amerika vielleicht einmal im Jahr zu bekommen hofft.» (FAZ) «Johnson, der schwarze Romantiker unter Amerikas Apokalyptikern, hat einen wilden, anmaßenden Roman geschrieben. Ein Buch wie ein Fluch: So unabweisbar wie das Jüngste Gericht.» (kulturSpiegel) «Eine Prosa von erstaunlicher Kraft und Schönheit. Wir erkennen und finden hier eine neue Stimme.» (Philip Roth)
«Ein Erzähler der Offenbarung.» SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG Mike Reed, Assistenzprofessor an einer Universität, lernt auf einer Party eine beschwipste Schönheit kennen: Kunststudentin, rothaarig, in einem blauen Samtkleid. Er nimmt sie kaum wahr. Vier Jahre zuvor hat er Frau und Tochter bei einem Unfall verloren, und noch immer fühlt er sich im Tunnel seiner Trauer gefangen. Einige Zeit später kreuzt die Rothaarige als Stripteasetänzerin, Performancekünstlerin und Kirchensängerin erneut seinen Weg . Schritt für Schritt erkundet er Möglichkeiten der Flucht und des Neuanfangs. «Prosa von erstaunlicher Kraft und Schönheit.» PHILIP ROTH
Zagubieni ludzie, którzy mijają się w pół drogi. Potrzeba bliskości, ostrość, z jaką widzi się świat, gdy jest się na dnie albo na narkotykowym haju. Czego szuka młody mężczyzna w heroinie, alkoholu, przygodnych znajomościach? Oszałamiająca wizja amerykańskich przedmieść: zdezelowanych samochodów, podupadających knajp, ludzi żyjących bez ograniczeń. Jedenaście opowiadań układa się w swoistą mikropowieść. Proza Johnsona jest oszczędna, a zarazem liryczna i pełna obrazów o niezwykłej intensywności.
