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Jesus' Son. Denis Johnson
Jesus' Son. Denis Johnson | Denis Johnson
A collection of linked stories narrated by a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict, this novel is a disturbing portrayal of loneliness and hope.
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ARTDJG
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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2 likes1 stack add
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Billypar
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

The stories in this collection are sometimes intense, other times surreal, and always have a vague fog of depression and drunkenness lingering in the background. The first person protagonists of some of these stories are pretty bad dudes, but you find out late in the story. So this person you had been implicitly trusting suddenly makes you ask yourself: "Who did I really think was telling me this story?"

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Rothdell
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
Mehso-so

I have felt pretty meh lately. No ambition. Just doing a whole lot of nothing. And it took me about two weeks to finish 183 paged book. As much as I love this book for its drug themes and culture, I wasn‘t into it. I think it was me, not the book, as strange as that sounds.

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Rothdell
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Took a good break so I can reset my brain, and this book brings my total count for 2019 at thirty books!! Most I‘ve ever read... An incredible feeling. It‘s very small and cute, so I took a side-by-side as my hand for reference

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Paperback.Propensity
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

Just finished reading this collection of short stories. It was quite good, I used to like reading about darker things, and I haven't in a while, so I enjoyed this.
Slowly making my way through the books I won last year from Picador books.

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Paperback.Propensity
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Reading some short stories and sipping tea. It's been a long day.

SassyBookworm Love your tea cup!😍 5y
Paperback.Propensity @SassyBookworm Thank you! Found it at a thrift shop, it is actually a mismatch set but they look like they go together 5y
SassyBookworm @Paperback.Propensity my oldest daughter collects them from thrift shops and makes candles with them. 5y
Paperback.Propensity @SassyBookworm That's really cool! 5y
11 likes4 comments
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Saknicole
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Starting this for the plane trip home from our San Francisco weekend! It was recommended and lent to me by my former department chair at school. #planereads #SanFrancisco #teachersoflitsy

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Loved this one and the movie is excellent! 5y
tpixie Did you have a favorite place (s) to go in San Francisco? I‘m heading there today! 5y
Saknicole @tpixie sorry! I loved it all! Hope you had a great time. I was just dreaming about the Irish coffee at Bueno Vista coffee 5y
tpixie @Saknicole had a great time, thx!! 5y
20 likes4 comments
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Thndrstd
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

Beautiful writing about troubled people in often terrible situations. The stories are somewhat interrelated, with some places and characters recurring, but each stands on each own. Taken together, they present a world of difficult times in which hope and redemption always remain possible. Highly recommended.

38 likes1 stack add
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kricheal
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

I see reading as an ultimate form of voyeurism, you can experience the darkest side of humanity while staying safe in your home. This was a book of short stories of heroin and alcohol addiction. Their morals simply weren't there because of their addiction, which made it a hard listen. The prose was written poetically and was delivered on point by the narrator. The subject matter was tough but was so beautifully written that I couldn't get enough.

67 likes3 stack adds
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kricheal
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Starting this next on #audible

kgriffith How does a book make it through the editing process without the title being correctly punctuated? I generally don‘t make a big deal of this sort of thing, but titles affect cataloging data, so I get hung up on these details. 6y
Bookwomble @kgriffith "As a particular case, Jesus' is very commonly written instead of Jesus‘s – even by people who would otherwise add ‘s in, for example, James‘s or Chris‘s. Jesus‘ is referred to as "an accepted liturgical archaism" in Hart‘s Rules." That apostrophe is something of a movable feast ? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe#Possessive_apostro... 6y
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kgriffith @Bookwomble fascinating. 6y
kricheal @KimHM Is this article saying that this title came from a Velvet Ungerground song? 6y
KimHM @kricheal Yes, the lines are the book‘s epigraph. 6y
57 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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PagesOfKate
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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A bit of the old decorum and decay. A mobius strip for U.S. and the addict alike.
#highforthis #aprella
@Reviewsbylola @Mdargusch @emilyhaldi @Cinfhen

Reviewsbylola This one is new to me! 6y
Mdargusch New to me too! 6y
62 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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This is an odd quote, but it‘s the first thing that came to mind for #sudden because some friends and I were slightly obsessed with the cinematic adaptation of Johnson‘s book in college, and “Will you forget about this (fill in the blank) all of a sudden?” became a commonly quoted phrase amongst our posse, the 828.

#QuotsyMarch18

49 likes2 stack adds
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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It's a new Denis Johnson story, people! ❤️

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/23/strangler-bob/amp

Jinjer I don‘t know him. 6y
shawnmooney @Jinjer His Jesus' Son is stunning! 6y
43 likes2 comments
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Beck9lol
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

What a great collection of stories into the life of an addict! A short read and I recommend checking out.

Megabooks Agreed. Awesome. 7y
14 likes1 comment
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courtney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

Just finished this collection this morning. We ride along with the floaty passing of time with an addict through country homes, bars, hospitals, crime scenes and missteps. Each story is achingly raw and beautiful, and I found myself floored more than once at his moments of clarity. There's a reason Denis Johnson is so beloved, and there's a reason this collection in particular has a 100% rating on here.

shawnmooney I loved this so much, too! ❤️ 7y
Megabooks It's amazing! 7y
45 likes2 comments
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AMVP
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

#anditsaugust #day9 - #quickreads

Finally got an opportunity to post a review of this.

A terrific collection of loosely connected short stories, with great sense of mood, grim yet memorable characters, and a deep undercurrent of humor.

18 likes1 stack add
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Lacythebookworm
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

Unlike any short stories that I've ever read before! Drugs, alcohol, debauchery!

BooksForYears These picador editions are my favorite 7y
Lacythebookworm @BooksForYears I know, right?!? So great! 7y
88 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

These mesmeric, disjointed stories of addicts and deadbeats—stories shot through with violence and hilarity and brief bursts of grace—add up to just about the best shock short fiction has ever given me. I got hooked on the light sparking up and off pretty much every page; there's only one fix: an astonishing number of re-readings.

ReadingEnvy Am I remembering correctly that you bailed on something else by his author? 7y
shawnmooney @ReadingEnvy That's always a good guess with me. 😂😂 But, no, this was my first by him and I look forward to reading more! 7y
Stephanie-Anne "And you, you ridiculous people, you expect me to help you." ?❤️ 7y
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shawnmooney @Stephanie-Anne "All these weirdos, and me getting a little better every day right in the midst of them. I had never known, never even imagined for a heartbeat, that there might be a place for people like us." 7y
Stephanie-Anne Yep. Jesus' Son is full of weird and special things. I find something new every time I reread it. One of my favorites! 7y
LeahBergen You've piqued my interest! Lovely review. 7y
RohitSawant Wonderful review! 7y
shawnmooney @LeahBergen @rohit-sawant Thanks! ❤️❤️ Your check💲are in the mail! 7y
51 likes2 stack adds8 comments
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Lacythebookworm
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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75 likes1 comment
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Alicia
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Sorry I have not been active lately!! Moving and traveling has been so busy. We went to Green Apple in San Francisco and I got these great deals! And some cute cards for my #litsypenpals! 😁😁📚

BooksForEmpathy Children of the New World 😍😍😍. 7y
71 likes1 comment
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Megabooks
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

Powerful. Moving. Heart crushing. A must read collection, especially for anyone who has been touched by addiction or rock bottom - where many of these characters are. I will return to it again and again. Excellent #tinybook binding as well. Highly, highly recommend!

111 likes9 stack adds
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Megabooks
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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My bookfairy came with my #bookmail! Thank you, kind neighbor, for putting it on my doorstep. (It got delivered to the wrong person yesterday.) Crisis averted!

This tiny copy of Jesus's Son is really interesting. It does remind me of the pocket drug handbooks doctors carry, and it is about addiction. Positive reviews from @shawnmooney @BookishFeminist @rachellayown @McShelfington @Redwritinghood I'm excited! 👇🏻

Megabooks Plus I ordered a bonus copy of one of the books to give away at some point. It was a 5🌟 read for me so hopefully the eventual recipient will like it as much! 7y
saresmoore Great choices! The top 3 were in my basket that I didn't end up ordering. 😁 7y
ReadingsByTheC Yay! I'm so glad they turned up. You've got some good stuff! 7y
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BookishFeminist OMG PERFECT DAYS I THREW IT ACROSS THE ROOM AND THEN LENT IT TO EVERYONE 7y
BookishFeminist This is an excellent stack. 7y
Megabooks @ReadingsByTheC Thank you! I'm excited! 7y
Megabooks @BookishFeminist That is quite an endorsement of a book! I'm intrigued. I'm excited about the whole stack. 7y
ValerieAndBooks And there it is! So glad you got it ok. What's the Jay McInerney title and the book above it (maybe book spine designers need to consider readability for Litsy posts 😊)? 7y
Megabooks @ValerieAndBooks it doesn't help that I'm a bad photographer 🤣🤣 (edited) 7y
Redwritinghood That's the edition I had. I loved that cover. I hope you enjoy it too. 7y
Megabooks @Redwritinghood I'm temped to read it right now! 7y
Redwritinghood @Booksandcooks Go for it! It's actually a pretty quick read. It's easy to read a couple of the stories and come back later. 7y
Jess Oh, I can't wait to hear your reaction to 7y
Megabooks @Redwritinghood Yeah, I started it! 😉 It's very heavy though. Packs a lot in a few words. 7y
Megabooks @Jess it's not usually my thing, but I've read a lot of good things about it. 7y
Jess I was appalled but couldn't put it down! Enjoy. 7y
Reviewsbylola Nice haul! 7y
120 likes3 stack adds20 comments
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BookishFeminist
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

Holy fuck. I've been writing Denis Johnson off for years as just another mediocre white dude author because I didn't know any better. But damn, this collection of stories is one of the best I've ever read. There's some powerful stuff in here dealing with drug addiction & relationships told with gripping storytelling. There's beauty and power in the precise imagery of his sentences. Overall, it's a stunning collection about the human condition.

Notafraidofwords Did you listen to it on audio? If so, is it a good audio? 7y
BkClubCare Well, that is a helluva endorsement 7y
BookishFeminist @Notafraidofwords Nope, I read it in print. I'd recommend it that way, too. Idk how good the audio is but I'd imagine you'd lose some of the powerful sentences. 7y
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Alicia Great review! I just listened to the All the Books where @Liberty talks about his passing. I wanted to pick up something by him to commemorate- from your review I think it should be this!! 7y
Leftcoastzen @Notafraidofwords I am about two thirds through the audio,narrated by Will Patton, has the right voice for it. Love the review! 7y
NerdyRev I just read this too and was blown away. It was an incredible read that made me want to read all his books 7y
Notafraidofwords @Leftcoastzen @BookishFeminist thanks!!! I'll pick this one up! 7y
Megabooks I just got this from Book Outlet! Glad to know it's good! 7y
Jess Sweet! I just picked this up last week. I will have to move it to the top of the pile. 7y
79 likes11 stack adds9 comments
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LWagoner
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

Sad to say I only just heard about this author while listening to a podcast discuss his recent passing. It was suggested to start with this collection of short stories. I came to the end and thought " That's it? There's no more stories?" Denis Johnson's writing is real; real human, real emotion, real life- his writing is honest and open. Enjoyed these stories. Quote from "Happy Hour"- p.82 "You've got to have a destination."

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Redwritinghood
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

Denis Johnson was a master at the short story. The prose is spare and direct and very effective at conveying the struggles his characters face and showing how they, nevertheless, still maintain hope. These stories deal with a working-class despair, poverty and drug addiction. The last story in the collection seems to point to some redemption, although it's not complete. Highly recommended.

58 likes2 stack adds
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AMVP
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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#junetunz day 13 - #scars

Was hoping to have this book finished today, but had other stuff going on during my break and didn't find the time.

Cinfhen Great spot! Kismet ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ 7y
11 likes1 stack add1 comment
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EricBoyd
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Will you believe me when I say there was kindness in his heart?

4 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Redwritinghood
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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I've seen a lot of people reading this collection lately and remembered that I have this teeny-tiny pocket version that I've never read! Time to remedy that.

vivastory I need to buy this edition 7y
saresmoore Very cool edition! 7y
Demanda I just got this edition on book outlet! Loving the look of it and can't wait to read it! 7y
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rachellayown 👍👍👍 7y
batsy I've been thinking about buying this edition! Not only is the cover amazing, it's the only Johnson book in local bookstores 🙄 7y
Redwritinghood @batsy I think that happens a lot when an author just passes away- everyone goes out and buys his books. 7y
53 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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SuperPunkNinja
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

I have to confess that I hadn't heard of Denis Johnson before he recently passed away. Now I'm going to have to read everything he's ever written because this book was amazing!

vivastory One of the greatest short story collections 7y
SuperPunkNinja @vivastory Absolutely! 7y
rachellayown I just picked this one up recently as well! So glad you enjoyed it! 7y
61 likes1 stack add3 comments
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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31 likes1 stack add
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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brendanmleonard I love him. 7y
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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"Jesus!" is right!

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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Megabooks 😳😳😳 7y
37 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Ericmanciniwriter
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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I am still knee deep in Denis Johnson, feeling like this might be one of those benders where I read everything by an author - is there a name for that?

CocoReads I just call it binge reading. 7y
saresmoore If there is a name for it, the Japanese thought of it first. 7y
56 likes1 stack add2 comments
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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CherylDeFranceschi ❤️❤️❤️😢💔 7y
37 likes1 comment
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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#bookintomovie for #splashintosummerreads

Some books that became movies and movies adapted from books.

coffeenebula Everything is Illuminated = 😍 7y
46 likes1 comment
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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These stories are incredible so far! No fooling…

TobeyTheScavengerMonk It sounds impossible but the movie actually does a very good job of translating the text to film. 7y
shawnmooney @TobeyTheScavengerMonk Ooh, I didn't know it was made into a movie! 😍 7y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk Oh it is great! A shaggy Billy Crudup plays the lead. It is dark, funny, and dreamlike, just like the book. 7y
Suet624 @TobeyTheScavengerMonk Oh! I knew the name of this book sounded familiar. The movie! Yes! 7y
24 likes4 comments
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shawnmooney
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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‼️

LeahBergen Eee! 7y
25 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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rachellayown
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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My May stats!

Cinfhen Fantastic 💗😊👏🏻🎉 7y
Suet624 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 7y
britt_brooke Nice! 7y
55 likes1 stack add4 comments
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rachellayown
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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Pickpick

When Denis Johnson died last week I learned how revered he was by many writers and I realized I needed to read his work. And WHOA, this book is AMAZING. I now need to read his entire body of work.

vivastory I have quite a few still to read. So glad you were impressed by this one, one of the greatest short story collections 7y
shawnmooney I realized the same thing! 7y
rachellayown It seems like he was quite prolific @vivastory. But yes, I agree that this one is one of the greatest short story collections. So incredible. 7y
See All 12 Comments
rachellayown Have you read any of his work @shawnmooney? 7y
vivastory @rachellayown There's not many books i can think of as being "life changing," but for me this was definitely one of them. 7y
rachellayown Yeah, I can see that @vivastory. I definitely feel like it changed me as a writer. 7y
rachellayown Thanks @tjwill. Stacked! 7y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk I love Jesus' Son, and the movie is amazing too. 7y
quietjenn This book. I love it so. 7y
rachellayown I'll have to check out the movie soon @TobeyTheScavengerMonk! 7y
rachellayown It's SO good @quietjenn! 7y
51 likes6 stack adds12 comments
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Ericmanciniwriter
Jesus' Son: Stories | Denis Johnson
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I was so so sad to hear about Denis Johnsons's death. No one wrote like him - Train Dreams haunts me almost weekly and Emergency is my all time favorite short story.

kspenmoll Jyst saw this, thought you might enjoy if not read yet. https://electricliterature.com/denis-johnson-has-passed-away-at-67-cb3dbd669657 7y
Ericmanciniwriter @kspenmoll thanks so much for sharing this 😀 7y
CherylDeFranceschi So sad! One of my favorite authors. I'm so thankful for all the things he branded on my brain! 😢 7y
54 likes3 comments