A review by nickdleblanc
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson

4.0

For the first four stories I was a little lost as to why so many people consider this a classic. The fifth and sixth stories, "Work" and "Emergency" convinced me. This is really just a short novel more than a collection of short stories. It's a bit disjointed and unreliable, but it's on purpose. You're in the mind of a heroin addict. The prose is sparse and well edited. Though there are some strange grammatical choices which I'm sure were made to reflect the feeling of thoughts occurring within thoughts (as this is all narrated in first-person) but, even so, they stuck out a bit and detracted from the mood. Mostly it is often-aped short story fare, unresolved plots, implications of events which aren't seen or heard, shades of intense characters, and the sharp edges of heavy sadness and romance protruding through every so often. I wish "Two Men" was a bit longer or that the storyline had been revisited later. Overall, a solid read.