Tree of Smoke

Set against the brutal backdrop of the Vietnam War, Denis Johnson's "Tree of Smoke" plunges into the murky world of intelligence, psychological operations, and moral disintegration. The narrative primarily follows Skip Sands, a young, idealistic American entangled in psy-ops, striving to be the 'Wise American' but finding himself a pawn in a chaotic, morally compromised conflict orchestrated in part by his enigmatic uncle, 'the Colonel.' Alongside Skip's journey, we encounter the Houston brothers, Bill and James, drifters from the Arizona desert who stumble into the war's bewildering maelstrom. Johnson masterfully blurs the lines between disinformation and delusion, exploring the profound human folly and the desperate search for meaning, connection, or oblivion – be it through sex, violence, or faith – in a landscape of unfathomable cruelty. It's a sprawling, intense epic that scrutinizes the soul of a nation and its individuals caught in the inferno of war, revealing the raw, often ugly truth of the 'Real American' experience.