Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
"Tree of Smoke" by Denis Johnson is a complex novel set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, weaving together the lives of several characters connected by their experiences in Southeast Asia during the tumultuous 1960s. The narrative begins with William "Bill" Houston Jr., a young seaman in the U.S. Navy, who interacts with his uncle, Colonel Francis Xavier Sands, a CIA officer involved in psychological operations. The plot unfolds through the perspectives of key figures, including Bill's brother, James "Cowboy" Houston, and CIA operative William "Skip" Sands, as they navigate the psychological and moral complexities of war and espionage.
The story explores themes of betrayal, disinformation, and the personal impacts of war, as characters engage in clandestine operations and confront their pasts. As the characters' lives intersect, the narrative delves into their struggles, including the haunting memories of combat and the search for meaning in a chaotic world. The novel concludes in 1983, reflecting on the long-term consequences of the Vietnam War on its participants, encapsulating the elusive nature of truth and the burdens of memory. "Tree of Smoke" offers a poignant exploration of human connections amid conflict, making it a significant work in contemporary American literature.
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Subject Terms
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
- Born: July 1, 1949
- Birthplace: Munich, Germany
- Died: May 24, 2017
- Place of death: Gualala, California
First published: 2007
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: War
Time of plot: 1963–70; 1983
Locale: Phoenix, Arizona; Honolulu, Hawaii; Yokosuka, Japan; Grande Island, Philippines; Saigon, Vietnam
Principal Characters
William "Skip" Sands, a spy for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Kathy Jones, his sometime lover, a Canadian widow doing humanitarian work in Southeast Asia
Colonel Francis Xavier Sands, his uncle, a CIA liaison and former air force colonel
William "Bill" Houston Jr., a sailor in the US Navy
James "Cowboy" Houston, Bill’s younger brother, a soldier in the US Army
Nguyen "Lucky" Minh, a South Vietnamese helicopter pilot
Trung "the Monk" Than, a double agent for the CIA operating in the Viet Cong
Dietrich "Dirk" Fest, a German hit man assigned to kill Trung
Sergeant Billem Stafford "Jimmy" Storm, a CIA agent and frequent companion of Colonel Sands`
The Story
Tree of Smoke opens in late 1963, shortly after the assassination of US president John F. Kennedy. William "Bill" Houston Jr., an eighteen-year-old seaman apprentice in the US Navy, has arrived in the Philippines, where he is staying at a military resort in the jungle. On his way to duty aboard ship, he briefly encounters Colonel Francis Xavier Sands and his helicopter pilot, a South Vietnam Air Force officer named Nguyen "Lucky" Minh.
The colonel, a hard-drinking World War II veteran, is affiliated with the Psychological Operations Group (Psy Ops) of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He is in the Philippines carrying out antiguerrilla missions and is on his way to take up a similar role in Vietnam. The colonel meets with his nephew, CIA operative William "Skip" Sands, to hand over an extensive private intelligence library known as the Tree of Smoke for safekeeping. While Skip leaves with the files to assume a series of posts in the Philippines, the colonel flies to Vietnam to establish a landing zone (LZ) at Cao Phuc.
One of the soldiers stationed at the LZ under the colonel’s command is Bill Houston’s younger brother, James "Cowboy" Houston, who has left his teenage girlfriend behind in Phoenix, Arizona, and altered his birth certificate to enlist in the US Army. After establishing the LZ, the colonel becomes involved in a complex disinformation campaign involving Nguyen Hao, Lucky’s uncle, and Trung Than, a guerrilla fighter with the Viet Cong who is being recruited as a double agent to be planted in North Vietnam.
The years pass with periodic glimpses at the lives of the principal characters. Bill Houston reenlists, goes AWOL in Hawaii in 1966, is released from the navy in 1968, and returns home. Cowboy, meanwhile, sees combat during the Tet Offensive of 1968 and, increasingly unhinged by his experiences, reenlists to train for the hazardous long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP). Colonel Sands is ubiquitous, suddenly appearing in a number of venues before vanishing again. Skip Sands, while on duty in the Philippines, witnesses firsthand the work of German assassin Dietrich "Dirk" Fest, who kills a gunrunning priest with a blowgun. In Manila, Skip meets Kathy Jones, the widow of a missionary, and begins a casual, sporadic relationship with her.
In 1967, after additional training in the United States, Skip is finally assigned to a post at a comfortable villa in Cao Quyen, Vietnam, posing as a Canadian named William French Benét. While waiting for action, he continues to maintain and update the colonel’s secret files. Kathy occasionally visits to continue their affair. In 1969, Colonel Sands and his associates Billem "Jimmy" Storm, Lucky, Nguyen Hao, and Trung all gather at the villa to discuss the disinformation campaign.
The clandestine CIA operation is complicated by the mysterious death of the colonel later in 1969. There are conflicting reports of how he died; Sgt. Storm does not believe that any are true and thinks that the colonel is still alive somewhere. The CIA interrogates main participants in the secret campaign, to no avail. The double-agent mission is further jeopardized by the presence of Fest; Nguyen Hao has betrayed his friend Trung, resulting in Trung being stalked by the assassin while sequestered in a Saigon apartment. Jimmy Storm is present at the crucial moment and shoots Fest dead.
Back in Phoenix, Bill Houston toils at menial jobs between bouts of lawlessness. After being honorably discharged, Cowboy returns home and embarks on a meaningless series of armed robberies. He is caught and marries his longtime girlfriend before being sentenced.
In a coda set in 1983, the Vietnam War is long over, and the novel’s participants are leading new lives. Double agent Trung is a hero in reunited Vietnam. Nguyen Hao is safe in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where Skip Sands is tried and condemned to hang for gunrunning. Jimmy Storm visits Skip to glean a key piece of information about Colonel Sands’s possible whereabouts and then follows a circuitous trail to Thailand in search of the legendary soldier. When his quest is unsuccessful, Storm, feeling he has nothing meaningful left in his life, sacrifices himself to lift a village curse. Finally, Kathy Jones, now remarried and living in Minnesota, receives a packet of rambling letters from her late lover Skip that will haunt her for the remainder of her life.
Bibliography
Cheuse, Alan. Rev. of Tree of Smoke, by Dennis Johnson. World Literature Today Mar. 2008: 10–11. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 June 2014. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=31659744&site=lrc-live>.
Lewis, Jim. "The Revelator." New York Times. New York Times, 2 Sept. 2007. Web. 23 June 2014.
Logevall, Fredrik. Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam. New York: Random, 2012. Print.
Melton, H. Keith, and Robert Wallace. The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception. New York: Morrow, 2009. Print.
Segedin, Ben. Rev. of Tree of Smoke, by Dennis Johnson. Booklist Aug. 2007: 8. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 June 2014. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=26457150&site=lrc-live>.