Line #33 Literature/TreeOfSmoke


1	[[quoteright:306:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tree_of_smoke.png]]
2	-> ''"Young men, while you live," he told them, "find out how to wake up from this nightmare."''
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4	''Tree of Smoke'' is an [[MindScrew esoteric]] war novel written by Denis Johnson and first published in 2007, winning the National Book Award for Fiction. It is [[DoorStopper very long]], [[NightmareFuel very nightmarish]], and almost [[RuleOfSymbolism too metaphysical]] for its own good. Despite being advertised as an epic novel about UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, Johnson's work is about a lot more than just that.
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6	Due to its slow pacing, penchant for [[SeinfeldianConversation low-key dialogue]], and [[SurrealHorror horrifically dreamlike]] atmosphere, the book has become known for being somewhat divisive among readers. There's no single protagonist (although there are several related plot threads), the protagonists are [[AntiHero deeply flawed]] at best and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality downright bizarre]] in their actions and motives at times.
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8	The closest thing to a "hero" the book has is Colonel Sands, a retired war hero who leads an operation in Vietnam with the help of the CIA. A bit [[CloudCuckoolander zany]] in his antics, although trust us when we say he's one of the most sane characters in the entire book.
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10	Think ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Literature/TheThingsTheyCarried''.
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12	!!''Tree of Smoke'' contains examples of the following tropes:
13	* AnArmAndALeg: There's a soldier with a leg that got blown off, using crutches to get around.
14	* AntiHero: '''Oh yes.''' In an ensemble of troubled protagonists, though, James Houston takes the cake. The Houston family as a whole is [[DysfunctionJunction pretty messed up]], really.
15	* AnyoneCanDie: And die they do. Horribly.
16	* BlackAndGrayMorality: And it's a fairly dark shade of gray.
17	* BlackComedy: Some of the soldiers' antics are this with a healthy dose of [[MindScrew Mind Screw]].
18	* BornLucky: Those who accompany him see Colonel Sands as invincible to an almost-supernatural degree.
19	* CloudCuckoolander: Sometimes [[PlayedForLaughs Played For Laughs]], other times for [[SurrealHorror Surreal Horror]].
20	* ColonelKilgore: Sergeant Harmon can come across as this.
21	* CoolOldGuy: Colonel Sands served in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and despite now being a civilian is practically worshiped by his subordinates.
22	* DoorStopper: About 700 pages long, depending on the edition.
23	* {{Eagleland}}: Definitely a mixture of both types. Skip Sands and the colonel are Type 1, at least at first, while many of the American soldiers are more Type 2.
24	* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Innocence which is then [[BreakTheCutie utterly crushed]], particularly in Kathy Jones's plot thread.
25	* MindScrew: When shit gets weird, it gets ''really'' weird. Though considering how James and other characters are either drunk or high (or both) a lot of the time, this isn't too surprising.
26	* NightmareFuel: Once our heroes enter Vietnam, things get ''very'' ugly.
27	** If you didn't know about the effects of [[{{Gorn}} white phosphorous]] before, you sure do now.
28	* SkewedPriorities: [[SarcasmMode Remember kids]], when you're in the middle of a war zone it's best to get drunk as possible and as often as possible.
29	* SociopathicSoldier: Quite a few of them, it seems.
30	* SurrealHorror: On top of all the violence and symbolism, some things simply do not make much sense when taken at face value, but that doesn't make them any less unnerving.
31	* {{Surrealism}}: Much like ''Literature/TheThingsTheyCarried'', this is a modern example of surrealist literature, although it does come back to Earth every now and again.
32	* WorldOfSymbolism: Present throughout, but becomes more apparent in trippy passages.

Context Literature / TreeOfSmoke