Train Dreams - Denis Johnson

Train Dreams

By Denis Johnson

  • Release Date: 2011-08-30
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 344 Ratings

Description

Now a major motion picture starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones–coming to Netflix on November 21!

A New York Times Notable Book for 2011
One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year
One of NPR's 10 Best Novels of 2011

From the National Book Award-winning author Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke) comes Train Dreams, an epic in miniature, and one of Johnson's most evocative works of fiction.

Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West—its otherworldly flora and fauna, its rugged loggers and bridge builders—this extraordinary novella poignantly captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life.

It tells the story of Robert Grainer, a day laborer in the American West at the start of the twentieth century—an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainer struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime.

Reviews

  • Beautiful portrait of melancholy and grief

    5
    By ixberrios
    I warched the film first. I liked it more than the book, however, the book itself was another entity. A poignant story on how millions die unknown of their impact in the world and how many stories are left unheard. Grief is the protagonist incarnated in Grainier and Gladys will forever be the peace.
  • A beautiful novella

    5
    By Scott's take on things
    This novella is about the life of a decent man, Robert Grainier, living in Idaho from about the 1880s to 1968. He works at all kinds of labor jobs, marries, and has a child. His wife and daughter die in a fire and Robert spends the rest of his life living simply, haunted by their deaths. Johnson’s writing is beautiful—clear and evocative, and consonant with Robert’s world. Johnson is not showing off, just telling a beautiful story.
  • Gorgeous!

    5
    By ReallyRozzy
    Not a word out of place. Gorgeous!
  • A rare beauty

    5
    By pkgoode
    A beautiful, subdued novella set in a forgotten time and place: the lumber camps of Depression-era Idaho and eastern Washington. The protagonist — one Grenier — discovers and clings to his humanity through the momentousness of love and grief. As ever, Johnson grasps the inherent worth in the downtrodden and outcast scorned by society. His inimitable description of Grenier’s first (and likely only) flight is worth the price or admission alone.
  • Longer

    5
    By ((TBAG))mikey
    It is only 9 chapters and it needs to be 12 chapters.
  • Good, not Great

    3
    By Emmet Aloysius
    I expected more after reading all the glowing reviews but found a good story, well written, and not verbose, but not extraordinary in any way. I will read more Johnson however as he has a way with words...EAF