"All these weirdos, and me getting a little better every day right in the midst of them. I had never known, never even imagined for a heartbeat, that there might be a place for people like us."

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson is the story of a man in a state of constant epiphany. The title of the book, which is actually a collection of short stories which mesh perfectly, comes from the Lou Reed song "Heroin". Throughout the eleven short stories the narrator,who is anonymous except for the unfortunate nickname of "Fuckhead" finds himself trying to feel his way through life while using drugs and fighting with his girlfriend Michelle. It is an excellent example of writing from the dark into the light as so many authors do.

The author, Denis Johnson began writing poetry. It's a little known fact that in the chapter "Dirty Wedding" Johnson began writing it as a poem to put a match to spark the fire. Throughout the book you can feel his poetic background; each line flows into the next and there isn't a wasted word. Each carries the weight of the entire story and his minimalist style speaks to his poetic roots.

When I finished this book I wanted to find Denis Johnson and thank him for writing the book.

I found this book while I was in a dark place in my life and with each page I realized that things can always get better as long as you have a weather eye towards the future

Denis Johnson

It's minimalist writing at it's absolute best

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Created Oct 23, 2006 at 12:55am • Submit your own review...