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Like a blind squirrel occasionally bumping into an acorn, the National Book Awards actually picked a decent book for a change. No, not Denis Johnson's ridiculously overhyped Vietnam War novel "Tree of Smoke", a choice which should be relegated to the National Book Awards Hall of Shame (if it doesn't exist, they should create it just for "Tree of Smoke"), but Tim Weiner's "Legacy of Ashes", his nonfiction evisceration of the CIA.
As for "Tree of Smoke", well, Denis Johnson is a guy who basically had one great book in him. This isn't it. Maybe giving him a National Book Award for this turkey is like giving John Wayne an Oscar for "True Grit", a way of making up for past indifference to his work. Take it from me, though, "True Grit" is a lot more involving and entertaining than "Tree of Smoke" could ever hope to be. Taste in books is, of course, subjective, but I can't see the choice of Johnson's work being something the National Book Awards committee will be proud of in twenty years.
About this poster:
Posted by:
samsamsamuel
(male, 40-ish)
(Posted 11/23/07)
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Denis Johnson's "Tree of Smoke" Gets a National Book Award?
