Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson

Just a pre-notice: Anyone reading this review expecting to read about a religious book will be disappointed.


I did not expect to like this book at all. From descriptions I had read, I expected it would be similar to Post Office by Charles Bukowski, which I hated, because it seemed to glorify and justify addictions. Besides, that one was not even very well written, in my opinion. But then a friend whose literary opinions I trust said Jesus' Son was "beautiful," so I decided to give it a chance.

And it is beautiful. And powerful. And brutally humorous. And about the saddest book I have ever read.

In a series of very short stories, Johnson gives us a look into the hallucinatory world of a heroin and alcohol addict, and, believe me, it is not a nice place to be. The narrator seems (figuratively) to be lost in a terrifying carnival fun house with no idea how to get out, not sure of what is real and what is not any more, and having perhaps even lost memory of the "real" world. The ending story does give some sense of hope, even though the narrator has been perhaps irreparably damaged.

The writing combines grittiness and poetry, with the contrast making each more powerful.

This would not be a book that all would like. It is very intense and not very cheerful. It's good that it is short, because I, for one, could have not have been immersed in that world for too long without extreme discomfort. But it is, indeed, beautiful.