Already Dead Pdf Summary
A contemporary noir, Already Dead is the tangled story of Nelson Fairchild Jr., disenfranchised scion to a northern California land fortune. A relentless failure, Nelson has botched nearly every scheme he’s attempted to pull off. Now his future lies in a potentially profitable marijuana patch hidden in the lush old-growth redwoods on the family land.
Nelson has some serious problems. His marriage has fallen apart, and he may lose his land, cash and crop in the divorce. What’s more, in need of some quick cash, he had foolishly agreed to smuggle $90,000 worth of cocaine through customs for Harry Lally, a major player in a drug syndicate. Chickening out just before bringing the drugs through, he flushed the powder. Now Lally wants him dead, and two goons are hot on his trail. Desperate, terrified and alone, for Nelson, there may be only one way out.
This is Denis Johnson’s biggest and most complex book to date, and it perfectly showcases his signature themes of fate, redemption and the unraveling of the fabric of today’s society. Already Dead, with its masterful narrative of overlapping and entwined stories, will further fuel the acclaim that surrounds one of today’s most fascinating writers.
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Already Dead Review
4.0 out of 5 stars One of our best contemporary literary writers
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2013
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I too was stunned at some of the negative, dismissive reviews of this modern classic. I believe those readers were looking for crime fiction, perhaps something like Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiassen or Stephen King’s books of that type, or which I am a fan of also. Far from it.
Already Dead is literary fiction & perhaps one of the last examples of “modernism”. Familiarity w/ Pynchon, Don DeLillo, Ken Kesey is essential. This book is about a lot of things, & the plot points are just vague outlines. Do you love language, words, poetry? Then Denis Johnson is generous in his imagery, word choice, descriptions. A knowledge of Northern California, or at least the darker sides of the Santa Cruz mountains &/or Big Sur area is very helpful. This is a troubled, haunting book that with patience & effort will cast an intoxicating spell over you.
I have certainly met less-homicidal versions of a few of these characters. However, Denis Johnson, imagines the lives of these fictional characters with more clarity that I will ever know similar real people. Yes, there are confusing parts. Some of the rambling letters from a schizophrenic brother can be skimmed through. The author knows what he is doing. Definitely not light reading, but if you attended a decent college & read Joyce, Melville & Faulkner somewhere back there, then this is far less challenging.
Anyone who has been starving for true literary fiction can slake their thirst here. Denis Johnson & Cormac McCarthy are out there so far ahead of the pack, that most readers will miss them entirely. But I’m glad I didn’t.
I deducted one star because the ending is not satisfying. It feels like the immensity of the book got away from DJ and finally the vehicle just ran out of gas. Also, it is suggested that one character is dying of cancer early in the novel, & in the end is getting happily married. Of course, nothing is as it seems in Johnson’s world, but the wedding ending & last glimpse of the book’s main characters rings false.
Another reviewer mentioned a plot similarity to “Budding Prospects” by TC Boyle. These are vastly different books, but both do take place in Northern California. Boyle’s novel is completely about growing pot and the hilarious travails of the three men who attempt it. Highly recommended. Already Dead is only peripherally about growing pot, a few pages here & there, but more about fate and karma–the forces we can unleash upon the world, the dreams we hatch by day that turn to nightmares when we sleep. A stunning achievement.
About Denis Johnson Author Of Already Dead pdf Book
Poet, playwright and author Denis Johnson Author Of Already Dead pdf Book was born in Munich, West Germany, in 1949 and was raised in Tokyo, Manila and Washington. He earned a masters’ degree from the University of Iowa and received many awards for his work, including a Lannan Fellowship in Fiction (1993), a Whiting Writer’s Award (1986), the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction from the Paris Review for Train Dreams, and most recently, the National Book Award for Fiction (2007).
Already Dead pdf, Paperback, Hardcover Book Information
- Publisher : Harper Perennial; Harperperennial ed. edition (May 19, 1998)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 448 pages
- ISBN-10 : 006092909X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0060929091
- Item Weight : 11.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 8.02 x 5.44 x 1.08 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #389,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,893 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #6,176 in Short Stories (Books)
- #18,319 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews: 4.2 out of 5 stars 68 ratings
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