The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories

After reading Jesus' Son years ago, I'd wondered if Denis Johnson would ever put out another collection of stories. I've read his novels, but nothing has brought me more joy than his work in the short form. Then this book came out. Then Mr. Johnson passed away. These were the last words he left us. A collection of five long stories. The Largesse of the Sea Maiden obliterated all of my doubts as to whether he still had it in him. This collection recalls the best of what made Jesus' Son so unputdownable. I was shocked and thrilled to see Dundun brought back to the page. But I had to put this down, because I realized I was blowing through it, and would never get the pleasure of reading it for the first time again! It's that kind of a book, folks. Amplified by the fact that there will never be another Johnson release. The writing stops the breath in your throat. A stunning accomplishment. Here's a sentence from The Starlight on Idaho written in the vernacular of a recovering drug addict: "My oldest brother is somebody who the state of Texas won't let him possess scissors." I don't know why that sentence blew me away like it did. A master writing like the illiterate you run into at a gas station. That's why he's so great. He's lived both of those lives. He can bring us characters from the potholes and culverts of humanity and makes them dazzle with sordid brilliance. This collection is a revelation. I'm so sad we won't have another.

Almost a year and a half after his death, this anthology of five stories appeared. As a fan of Denis Johnson, this reviewer readily ordered the book and pushed through it. Since Johnson certainly knew he was terminally ill, the themes of mortality, illness, friendships/loves once had and lost and times lost to drugs and alcohol surface again and again. Sadly, the collection is a rehash of where the author has taken the reader in previous works.It is preferable to remember the power and prose/poetry of the novella, Train Dreams, a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. and a personal favorite. The stark characterizations of persons and places in both Jesus' Son and Tree of Smoke, a recipient of the National Book Award, underscore Johnson's craft. May these works stand as his literary legacy .

One of 20th century American literature's giants among men, Denis Johnson's swan song collection is poignant and truly touching. Though rather slim at 207 pages, this 5 story collection packs a considerable emotional gut punch. Through these "fictional" ruminations, Johnson unveils deeply personal observations, chronicled by narrators who are strikingly similar to the author himself. These stories read like autobiography, with the namez and nonessential character particulars changed. While immersing oneself in these ruminations on writing, teaching, living and gracefully departing this mortal coil, the reader will undoubtedly feel privileged to spend this last twilight hour with this master craftsman. Johnson says his long farewell while enduring his own terminal disease, and I for one have been awed, humbled, and touched by his powers of observation. It is a privilege to hear this poetic voice share his insights into this strange, beautiful life with a wretch like me.

Denis Johnson is one of my favorite short story writers of all time. Largesse of the Sea Maiden is the final book he worked on in his lifetime, and we are treated to five stories that are quite a bit longer than much of the prose we are used to. Each one explores existence and transcendence, moving from prison or the body to whatever comes next... which is likely nothing. Or finally, peace.Each piece is a self-aware capsule unlike much of his work that came before it. The pieces feel heavily grounded in fiction this time, even fantasy at times, and explore what freedom and relationships mean in their most elemental forms. With Johnson, there was a certain level of realism to his work. As he famously said when asked what the knife represented in ‘Emergency’ at a college book lecture, he replied, “when I was younger, I worked in an emergency room. One night, a man came in with a knife in his eye.” This collection is much different, however, and feels heavily grounded in a more metaphysical and reflective fiction rather than interpreted reality. Of course, the death of a narrator is directly self-referenced, providing a haunting final few paragraphs to one of the pieces. This collection felt like it shed the overarching drug-addled masculinity found in his other works to present a cohesive, reflective humanist reflection on the end of life and what comes next.I truly enjoyed these, and I was lucky enough to hear a preview of the works several months earlier at my MFA program as his editor read from the unreleased manuscript beside the campfire the weekend we learned of his death. It was a gorgeous night beneath the stars, something Johnson would have truly appreciated.

The structure throws off the weight of this book - a lot of short stories that feel more like brief anecdotes to start make it seem slight and swift. But the middle section really takes off as the stories are akin to the brilliant Jesus' Son: Moments of beauty within stories of broken people trying to put themselves back together. The end is something of a novella more so than a short story that is off-kilter and enigmatic that leaves the reader wanting a lot more.

This was my first, and probably only introduction to Johnson. I liked the first four stories and thought them to provide a view of people not always available. The last story ruined everything for me. I thought that Doppelganger, Poltergeist was terrible and if his last story, was very unfortunate. I didn’t like Colonel Parker, but though Johnson went overboard. One reviewer mentioned that Johnson named dropped in this book. In the last story alone, he somehow missed the Kennedy assignation. My last complaint is the price on this very small effort.

This is the last collection of short stories Denis Johnson wrote. Johnson's work is marked by his humour and the breadth of his understanding of human relationships; it includes the frankly commercial (Nobody Move) to novels of breadth and classic ambition - Tree of Smoke. His short story called Emergency is, in my humble opinion, one of the best ever written. The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, similarly contains stories that are written sparely and with respect for the reader's intelligence; Strangler Bob is amongst the best things Johnson has produced.

Absolutely wonderful.I love Train Dreams and this, whilst hugely different, sings with the same crazed life.Geoff Dyer suggested in his Observer review that Johnson's 'Control is achieved through willing proximity to its loss.' and I think that was true and the fact that he's now gone brings that idea home.These are stories which bleed between loss lived and reported, punches thrown and taken, life and scenes experienced and rendered with acute fidelity — a technicolor felicity.A wonderful book.

Terrific opening story, and much of this collection is just as brilliant as Jesus' Son.

Read everything he wrote. Except possibly Tree of Smoke.

Brilliant - always good