The reason I wanted to read this collection is because of how much I enjoyed Denis Johnson’s Train Dreams . After finishing this collection of 5 stories, I initially rated it 3.5 stars feeling that some of the meaning had escaped me . But as I’m writing this and thinking more about it and the writing, I have to give it 4 stars. The writing is good and I liked three of the five stories so I’ll comment briefly on those .

My favorite is the first story titled as the book. Bill Whitman, an “ad man” gives us a series of vignettes, depicting events and people in his life reflecting on marriage, divorce, death , careers. I especially enjoyed the discussion with a circle of friends who discuss the loudest sounds they remember or the most silent thing . This is not a typical conversation I could imagine being a part of but wow the responses were thought provoking and fascinating. A focus on mortality and as Whit puts it “the velocity of life.” (5 stars) The second story , “The Starlight on Idaho “is rather dark as we meet Mark Cassandra, “Cass”, in rehab for alcoholism and suffering side effects of the medicine, Antabuse. He writes letters to his childhood girlfriend, his AA sponsor, his father, grandmother, Satan, his sister, “friends and neighbors in the universe “, Rolling Stone and TV guide . It is though these letters that we come to know Cass , a good bit about his past and how he ended up here .(3.5 stars) “Triumph Over the Grave”, about a writer who talks about aging and illness, the death of friends, is depressing and realistic. It was eerie in a way as I read the last sentences: “It doesn’t matter. The world keeps turning. It’s plain to you that at the time I write this, I’m not dead. But maybe by the time you read it.” Dennis Johnson died in May of 2017. (4 stars) The other two stories I rate 3 stars. I just couldn’t connect with the Elvis obsessed poet . This may appeal to readers who really enjoy short fiction and fans of Johnson’s work. I own of copy of his Tree of Smoke, a National Book Award winner and hope to get to it one of these days soon.


I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Random House through NetGalley.

A great collection of stories. Johnson has won another fan.

Somehow Johnson was an author that I felt I should read but hadn't yet. That changed as not long after his death I learned there would be a collection of short stories, which from my knowledge is where his true strength was, was due to be published in January.
This collection of 5 stories deals largely with everyday life recreated by a master of language, my favorite being either "triumph over the grave" whose ending was very powerful all things considered, or the first story which the book got its name from.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in the craft of writing or mortality as told by an excellent writer approaching the end of theirs.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc available through netgalley.

Ostensibly better than his long form stuff that I've read. The stories are much more concise and carry much more weight than the long-winded and often scattered tomes I've read by him before. They tend to hit the table like a brick and read like one as well. I'd say yes to this collection.

How sad that we have lost Denis Johnson, a true master of the short story. Anyone who wants to understand the strange alchemy of short-form fiction would be wise to read and re-read this book.