Denis Johnson Leaves Us With His Best In 'Largesse Of The Sea Maiden'
Denis Johnson finished his first story collection in 25 years just before he died. The pieces in it are stunning, dark, sometimes as bleak as anything he's ever written — but miraculous to read.
Nobody ever wrote like Denis Johnson. Nobody ever came close. The author of books like Jesus' Son and Tree of Smokewas a hardcore minimalist who could say in one sentence what other writers wouldn't be able to say in a whole chapter. His stories and novels embraced the dark, but reluctantly; he refused to shy away from the brutal, the violent and the desperate. He was the last of his breed, and it was a breed of one.
