Rating: 
Summary: '"SHUT UP," he translated.'
Review: How can you not love a novel that contains the above line of dialogue? This is a staggering, intricate, hilarious work of fiction. Even the incidentals (Red the fat horse, Navarro's conversation with Doc Schooner in Nelson Senior's house, Clarence driving in the dust storm, the whole Whitehorn episode near the end) are both funny and moving. Me anyway, I was floored. By the way, I came across the Bill Knott poem that gives this novel its plot and it is a source of wonder to me to see how one gifted writer can both celebrate and extend the work of another. Already Dead is a book for the ages.
Rating:
Summary: '"SHUT UP," he translated.'
Review: How can you not love a novel that contains the above line of dialogue? This is a staggering, intricate, hilarious work of fiction. Even the incidentals (Red the fat horse, Navarro's conversation with Doc Schooner in Nelson Senior's house, Clarence driving in the dust storm, the whole Whitehorn episode near the end) are both funny and moving. Me anyway, I was floored. By the way, I came across the Bill Knott poem that gives this novel its plot and it is a source of wonder to me to see how one gifted writer can both celebrate and extend the work of another. Already Dead is a book for the ages.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent spiritual noir
Review: I had no intention of writing anything about this book - having just finished it I wondered what others thought of it. The two short bewilderingly negative reviews of this book surprised me, but notice that they had little to back up their view. Even the person who loaned me this book did not think it was great, and while it was certainly not as impressive as Jesus' Son (which stunned me in its brevity and impact), it held my attention throughout, even, as another reviewer wrote, you knew - to some degree - what would happen. Hell, just read the title and you know what'll happen. Perhaps the fact this book requires a bit of effort from the reader is what put off the reviewers that gave it such a low rating. But what good book doesn't? Yes, the chgaracters are in various states of mental crisis, alcohol and drug effects and after-effects, and real and imagined paranoia; so when do those ingredients make for bad noir? Johnson allowed me to feel different ways about the characters throughout the book depending on who described them, including one who appears for only a few pages (and a bit later as first a lifeless corpse and then a slightly less lifeless one) and another who never appears at all, which makes me wonder if ALL of the characters' take on that guy is completely off-base. There's dialogue worthy of the better bits of McGuane, long rambling letters that read with great panic fever, and hilarious bits about Nietzsche, who should always be good for a laugh, but is seldom used to excellent effect. More spiritual than Angels, and longer than Jesus' Son, if you love the way Johnson writes than the more the better.
Rating:
Summary: Hypnotic and Sad
Review: I love it when readers try to analyze a writer. To call someone arrogant or to say that he was trying to be "ultra-smart" cracks me up; as if they "know" what the writer was intending.But then again, I don't understand anyone who says that this book was boring. I truly couldn't put it down; it was extremely good. I finished it with a strange sensation; similar to when I read THE MAGUS by John Fowles. I've never read any of Johnson's poetry, and only one short story, but I did enjoy this book. I want to point out that many aspects were very similar to Norman Mailer's TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE, a crime-drama. Pick that one up if you dug this one.
Rating:
Summary: Superior writing, Excellent characters
Review: I loved this book. I bought it without having prior knowledge of the author or the subject of the story because I read two pages in the bookstore and loved the way Johnson told the story. Only the most discerning, articulate readers who have a thirst for more than predigested language will love Johnson. As far as I can tell, there are so few writers with his skill, that one should always purchase his work in hard cover for posterity. Dennis, if you read this, don't give up!
Rating: 
Summary: too anyone who got to the end, i bow to you
Review: I tried 3 times to finish this book, but i just can't do it. I'm a big Johnson fan but this book is just too long to sustain his ethereal style. The language is beautiful but I need to feel connected to these characters to ride this book for 400-somewhat pages. Try Johnson's poetry and short stories, that's the stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Another work of excellence by a master of surrealist fiction
Review: I, too, am bewildered, and more than a little amused, by the dismissive (and ultimately insubstantial) negative comments of other readers. How can one read this book and not be impressed? Agreed, this was not Johnson's best work, but it should be obvious to any thoughtful reader that this is a gifted writer, and that this novel--like each of Johnson's in its own way--is unique and thought-provoking and, yes, compelling. Those who are "bored" with this novel should probably not tax their poor brain cells too much. For them, a little friendly advice: Stick to Grisham or Clancy. "Already Dead" is neither "Jesus' Son" nor "Angels" nor "Fiskadoro"--but then, asking him to repeatedly crank out more of the same is a little like complaining that Dylan refuses to keep re-writing "Like a Rolling Stone." Johnson takes huge risks with each outing and obviously intentionally avoids the mainstream--and admittedly this novel is not perfect. But it undoubtedly ranks among the top five or six literary works of 1997-98. An excellent work: simultaneously funny, bizarre, stunning, off-beat, and hallucinatory--in other words, typical Johnson.
Rating: 
Summary: "Already Dead" Made Me Wish I Was
Review: It is unfortunate that this novel was ever written. The characters are uninspiring, and the plot is at best plodding. The story is told through the eyes and actions of those either mad, intoxicated or stoned. Accordingly, the text is disjointed to the point of distraction. "Already Dead" is eminently forgettable. I felt I had been robbed of the time it took to read this drivel
Rating:
Summary: Everything you'd want
Review: It's a great book. A pleasure to read. Like a fever dream it makes you want more and then it ends and you're still in it for a week or so. Great use of Plot (which he borrowed from someone's poem) and Characterization. If you know the part of the country, it's even better. I found Johnson's work here to be amazing. I like this writer quite a bit. He has a lot to teach.
Rating:
Summary: I was "Already Dead" by the time I finished
Review: Johnson at times has a poetic voice and something of a flair for atmosphere, but 448 pages of lowlifes doing drugs, practicing dime-store witchcraft and plotting murders? This was borderline unreadable. I persisted, waiting for some great truth to emerge from the jumble of contrived plot developments, but after a few hundred pages I was ready to dive off one of those bottomless Pacific cliffs Johnson is always rambling on about. A very disappointing read.
|
