Sorry about the headline; I’ve been watching too much Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
However, a review of the current bestselling novel Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson, makes it sound like this might be, uh, the worst book ever written. Interestingly I am in the midst of reading/listening to this novel. While I did not have the same visceral reaction to the book that B.R. Myers did (read his article in the December issue of The Atlantic), I’ve had a hard time garnering interest in the story or its characters.
What makes this all the more interesting is that, as Myers says, Johnson’s early collection of stories, Jesus’ Son, is widely regarded as “the best American book of the past 25 years.” Given this sort of track record, I will stick out Tree and hope to find some reward by the end.
Anyone out there had their own experience reading Johnson? And please, let us know what you think is the worst book every written…
UPDATE: Tree of Smoke has won the National Book Award for Fiction (11-14-07). Not bad for the worst book ever written!
UPDATE: Tree of Smoke is listed on the New York Times Best Books of 2007 list.
I think this phenomenon speaks to the disconnect between good writing and good press which Myers speaks to in the Atlantic piece. The romanticized accolades for Norman Mailer upon his death mask his lack of accomplishments in recent decades. Reading all the heartfelt encomia about what a great American writer he was ignores not only his many personal failings (convenient that people who applaud his politics can forget his violence and misogyny) but his utter lack of importance among modern writers. There has never been a bigger gap between the writers who are read and the writers who are promoted. I fear it’s an unfortunate outgrowth of the explosion of MFA programs which promote a very specific and rigid genre of writing, published by like-minded folks and only read by the same.