...
Show More
some parts are hit or miss, the most interesting being the last story, the small boys' unit.
Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book
Seek : Reports from the Edges of America and Beyond
...
Show More
Part political disquisition, part travel journal, part self-exploration, Seek is a collection of essays and articles in which Denis Johnson essentially takes on the world. And not an obliging, easygoing world either; but rather one in which horror and beauty exist in such proximity that they might well be interchangeable. Where violence and poverty and moral transgression go unchecked, even unnoticed. A world of such wild, rocketing energy that, grasping it, anything at all is possible.Whether traveling through war-ravaged Liberia, mingling with the crowds at a Christian Biker rally, exploring his own authority issues through the lens of this nation's militia groups, or attempting to unearth his inner resources while mining for gold in the wilds of Alaska, Johnson writes with a mixture of humility and humorous candor that is everywhere present.With the breathtaking and often haunting lyricism for which his work is renowned, Johnson considers in these pieces our need for transcendence. And, as readers of his previous work know, Johnson's path to consecration frequently requires a limning of the darkest abyss. If the path to knowledge lies in experience, Seek is a fascinating record of Johnson's profoundly moving pilgrimage.
null pages, Paperback
First published January 1,2001
This edition
- Format
-
null pages, Paperback
- Published
-
January 1, 2004 by Methuen
- ISBN
-
9780413772756
- ASIN
-
0413772756
- Language
-
English
About the author
...
Show More
Poet, playwright and author Denis Johnson was born in Munich, West Germany, in 1949 and was raised in Tokyo, Manila and Washington. He earned a masters' degree from the University of Iowa and received many awards for his work, including a Lannan Fellowship in Fiction (1993), a Whiting Writer's Award (1986), the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction from the Paris Review for Train Dreams, and most recently, the National Book Award for Fiction (2007).
Readers also enjoyed
Community Reviews
Rating(4 / 5.0, 95 votes)
5 stars
34(36%)
4 stars
26(27%)
3 stars
35(37%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
95 reviews All reviews
...
Show More
The last pages of the article called "HIPPIES" are one of the best pieces of writing in English, in my opinion.
...
Show More
This is a fantastic collection of journalistic essays and others rooted in memoir. 4.5567/5 stars. A few essays drag a bit, but Johnson’s two essays on Liberia really ravage you.
...
Show More
Odd book, but it covered a lot of ground I was interested in. His writing style is engaging, although sometimes, well, odd. He writes some of his vignettes in the first person and then some of them in the third person.
I thought about giving this book three stars, rather than four, but then realized that 1) I could not put this book down, 2) These stories need to be told and read.
So, thanks, Denis Johnson. I would love to have a coffee with you someday. I really enjoyed your book and advise others that it is well worth the time.
I thought about giving this book three stars, rather than four, but then realized that 1) I could not put this book down, 2) These stories need to be told and read.
So, thanks, Denis Johnson. I would love to have a coffee with you someday. I really enjoyed your book and advise others that it is well worth the time.
...
Show More
This off-beat travelogue is twenty times better than it has any right to be, and that's because Denis Johnson has an incredible eye and a voice to match. Ring-side seats.
...
Show More
psyched to read this after jesus' son... haven't picked up another johnson book since. i feel it was because i got a bit too much insight into the author (and was disappointed/uninterested)... im always saying, "don't confuse the art with the artist," so maybe i'll find my way back...
...
Show More
Terrific Writing—Amazing Reporting
The pieces in this collection are varied, some, dealing with his trips to Africa and Alaska, are tight, tense and full of action, others, set in the American west are slower, descriptive, quiet. The humanity of the reporter comes through in particular when he tells of his travels in West Africa and Somalia. The writer is just some white guy from Idaho, with no special powers or contacts, not unlike the people who he tends to rely upon to assist him in this travels. He cannot understand, his mind seems to freezes up in horror sometimes, at the state of the people that he sees. And this frozen disbelief, and the rapid switches between awful mistake and bizarre corniness come through in the writing with ease and beauty. Johnson’s road trip stories beat any U.S. road trip writing you can name – these are road trips through the Heart of Darkness, and out the other side.
The pieces in this collection are varied, some, dealing with his trips to Africa and Alaska, are tight, tense and full of action, others, set in the American west are slower, descriptive, quiet. The humanity of the reporter comes through in particular when he tells of his travels in West Africa and Somalia. The writer is just some white guy from Idaho, with no special powers or contacts, not unlike the people who he tends to rely upon to assist him in this travels. He cannot understand, his mind seems to freezes up in horror sometimes, at the state of the people that he sees. And this frozen disbelief, and the rapid switches between awful mistake and bizarre corniness come through in the writing with ease and beauty. Johnson’s road trip stories beat any U.S. road trip writing you can name – these are road trips through the Heart of Darkness, and out the other side.
...
Show More
A great travel writing book that encourages bravery and discovery.
Leave a Review