Tree of Smoke

Shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Tree of Smoke – the name given to a ‘psyop’ that may or may not be hypothetical and may or may not be officially sanctioned – is Denis Johnson’s most gripping, visionary and ambitious work. Set across south-east Asia and the United States, and spanning two decades, Tree of Smoke tells the story of Skip Sands, a CIA spy who may or may not be engaged in psychological operations against the Viet Cong. Skating across Vietnam, the Philippines, and the United States, Johnson takes the reader on a surreal, vivid journey, dipping in and out of characters’s lives to reveal fundamental truths at the heart of the human condition.Part of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature.

Denis Johnson was the author of several novels, including Already Dead, Resuscitation of a Hanged Man, Fiskadoro, The Stars at Noon, Angels and The Name of the World, plus a collection of short stories, Jesus’ Son, and four volumes of poetry. He died in Sea Ranch, CA in 2017 at the age of sixty-seven.