The Catawba Fictioneers

Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson

Jesus’ Son, you would think a religious collection, right? Well, probably the total opposite- drugs, loathing, apathy, and alcohol. This collection follows one character, Fuckhead (or F.H. from now on), through some of his memorable experiences.

“Car Crash While Hitchhiking”

For the majority of the stories there is a small plot. Especially in this story since it is basically summarized in the first two paragraphs. The characterization of the minor characters is also brief which amounts to very little description. However, what the story “lacks” in terms of content it makes up for with the narrative. Johnson is able to, with a descriptive narrative; create a story that holds its own without character and story development.

F.H. is quite the narrator and character. He is rude, vile, and drug filled and yet I can’t help but love him. The narration is able to provide information on F.H. However, he seems to stumble his way through telling it. While this may seem like a bad idea, it actually works pretty well because it adds unexpected turns as well as the interior thoughts of F.H. The narrative on F.H.’s life is so expansive that I was able to learn many things about him. This in return for a major plot and important minor character could go either way but Johnson pulls it off.

The story consists of simple prose. This basic approach to writing allows for more depth into F.H.’s mind because of the straight forward language. Rather than fluffing his words, Johnson writes his stories to the point, for the most part. Johnson’s writing is illuminating and thoughtful. He is able to use simple language to portray some of the darkest ideas and light up this dim world he has created.

“Happy Hour”

This story was a bit off to me. It really didn’t draw me in. Unlike the other stories where for the most part I was interested, I just couldn’t care about this one. Basically the plot threw me and the narrator wasn’t there to help. In the other stories I could follow along but for this one I didn’t want to. The story seemed like it was trying too hard to be like the others and I felt that it fell short.

I think the reason that I didn’t like it could be because of the way Johnson has set up this collection. All the stories follow the same narrator and the collection acts more as a book rather than short stories. Therefore, it is basically another chapter in this book. However, I should focus on the stories as individuals and not book-like. Then I would have to give this story a sub-par rating because of its lack of depth. The story would work in conjunction with the others but as it stands it doesn’t make much sense. I believe that the majority of the stories can act as individuals; however, this one cannot. Still there were really great lines and the prose was beautiful so it is hard for me to find flaws.

“Emergency”

Johnson’s methods of storytelling continue with “Emergency”- lack of plot and unique narration. But it differs in the amount of drug use, I would say, and this leads to why this story is so great. Through the drug induced narration F.H. tells a story about his experience one day in a hospital he worked at. The narration works well to pair with the character and his drug addiction because he questions when things happened or if they had happened. This helped me see through F.H.’s life and how his drug addiction affects him. It gives a realistic touch to an otherwise unrealistic reality. Johnson is able to write his story with unorthodox events because that it is what to be expected from this world F.H. lives in. The reader is influenced by the way Johnson writes this story and this allows for the suspension of disbelief, no matter how strange the situation.

Another aspect that appears in this story is that Johnson downplays some of the “big” moments in terms of plot and sneaks in the moments of enlightenment. These moments come from dialogue or F.H.’s personal thoughts. With that said it is interesting to see that the action doesn’t control the story and instead the dialogue expresses the bigger picture. Johnson does well to express the real high moments by getting past the action of the story and minimizing the plot.