A review by jakekilroy
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson

4.0

This rattling collection is one shaky, muttering burst after another of weirdos, creeps, lowlifes, outlaws, and guys who just can't keep their brains together — and I suppose I mean that in the old way; the way my dad would talk about wildcards; the way that those existences were as exciting as they were troubling. Everyone here is just sputtering through their tiny worlds, from hitchhiking through car accidents to watching a religious couple wash each other from the shadows of night. Each narrator beats up sentences trying to get out their thoughts, feverishly bouncing between mundane immediacy to croaked gospel mania. They'll ask who they even represent to a woman they're sleeping (and arguing) with and it'll put 'em into high gear to wonder how god can see crimes and sins if he's always got the bright lights in his eyes. You're unsure what everyone in these stories are capable of and it's equal parts worrisome and wonderful. Half the time it's like listening to someone pace and work themselves up. But if you sit there long enough, you might become a believer yourself. Wild times.