Jesus' Son
The best-known introduction to Johnson's distinctive short fiction and recurring themes.
Author guide
Denis Johnson Books in Order
Denis Hale Johnson (1949–2017) was an American writer whose work included novels, novellas, short-story collections, poetry, plays, essays, and reportage. His fiction includes Angels, Jesus' Son, Tree of Smoke, and The Laughing Monsters. Tree of Smoke won the 2007 National Book Award for Fiction. Johnson also wrote the reportage and essay collection Seek and several collections of poetry and plays. His posthumous short-story collection The Largesse of the Sea Maiden was published in 2018.
literary fictionnovelnovellashort storiespoetryessaysreportagedramaplays
Catalog record updated .
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Angels
His first novel and a strong entry point into his longer fiction.
Train Dreams
A concise, self-contained novella that presents Johnson's lyric and historical imagination.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (10)
- Angels
novel · 1983
'A dazzling and savage first novel' New York Times Angels tells the story of two born losers. Jamie has ditched her husband and is running away with her two baby girls. Bill is dreaming of making it big in a life of crime. They meet on a…
- Fiskadoro
novel · 1985
Hailed by the New York Times as "wildly ambitious" and "the sort of book that a young Herman Melville might have written had he lived today and studied such disparate works as the Bible, 'The Wasteland,' Fahrenheit 451, and Dog Soldiers,…
- The Stars at Noon
novel · 1986
- Resuscitation of a Hanged Man
novel · 1991
Thematically ambitious and written with virtuoso style, this book probes the mysteries of faith, hope, and love in a work of stirring resonance and great beauty--a memorable achievement.es hard-boiled theology and a redeeming wit--the…
- Already Dead: A California Gothic
novel · 1997
- The Name of the World
novella · 2000
The acclaimed author of Jesus' Son and Already Dead returns with a beautiful, haunting, and darkly comic novel. The Name of the World is a mesmerizing portrait of a professor at a Midwestern university who has been patient in his grief…
- Tree of Smoke
novel · 2007
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…
- Nobody Move
novel · 2009
'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…
- The Laughing Monsters
novel · 2014
"A literary spy thriller set in Africa, where an intelligence agent is caught up in a get rich quick scheme"--
- Train Dreams
novella · 2011
A New York Times Notable Book for 2011 One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year One of NPR's 10 Best Novels of 2011 From the National Book Award-winning author Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke) comes Train Dreams, an epic in miniature,…
Short fiction (2)
- Jesus' Son
short-story collection · 1992
A collection of linked stories narrated by a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict, Jesus' Son is a disturbing portrayal of loneliness and hope. He travels through an American underworld of burnt-out sports stars, hospital waiting rooms,…
- The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories
short-story collection · 2018
Essays and speeches (1)
- Seek: Reports from the Edges of America and Beyond
reportage and essays · 2001
Part political disquisition, part travel journal, part self-exploration, Seek is a collection of essays and articles in which Denis Johnson essentially takes on the world. And not an obliging, easygoing world either; but rather one in…
Poetry (5)
- The Man Among the Seals
poetry collection · 1969
- Inner Weather
poetry collection · 1976
- The Incognito Lounge and Other Poems
poetry collection · 1982
- The Veil
poetry collection · 1987
- The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly: Poems, Collected and New
poetry collection · 1995
Plays (2)
- Shoppers: Two Plays
play collection · 2002
- Soul of a Whore and Purvis: Two Plays in Verse
play collection · 2012
Two plays—hilarious and searing in equal measure—by one of our most essential and original authors In his poetry, short stories, novels, and plays, the National Book Award-winning author Denis Johnson has explored the story of…
Frequently asked questions about Denis Johnson
Who was Denis Johnson?
Denis Johnson (1949–2017) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, essayist, and playwright.
Sources: poetryfoundation.org (opens in a new tab)loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
Where was Denis Johnson born and raised?
He was born in Munich, Germany, in 1949 and grew up in Tokyo, Manila, and the Washington, D.C., area.
Sources: nationalbook.org (opens in a new tab)poets.org (opens in a new tab)
What influenced Denis Johnson’s writing?
Johnson said his poetic ear was shaped by influences ranging from Dr. Seuss, Dylan Thomas, and Walt Whitman to rock guitarists Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, as well as T. S. Eliot. His work was also shaped by his MFA study with Raymond Carver at the University of Iowa.
Sources: poetryfoundation.org (opens in a new tab)poets.org (opens in a new tab)
What awards did Denis Johnson win?
His novel Tree of Smoke won the 2007 National Book Award for Fiction. He also received a Lannan Literary Award, a Whiting Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, awarded posthumously.
Sources: nationalbook.org (opens in a new tab)loc.gov (opens in a new tab)lannan.org (opens in a new tab)
What is Denis Johnson’s literary legacy?
Johnson is remembered for moving freely among poetry, fiction, drama, essays, and reportage while writing with empathy about damaged and marginalized lives. The Library of Congress praised his prose for combining “grace with grit” and generating empathy for his characters.
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)poetryfoundation.org (opens in a new tab)