Train Dreams by Denis Johnson.

A library copy of Train Dreams by Denis Johnson resting on a table.
A library copy of Train Dreams by Denis Johnson resting on a table.

I like novellas. The giant, sprawling, epic stories lose me at some point. 1000 pages of Picasso biography? Sure. But I have always preferred more concise works when it comes to fiction. Well, and music. String quartets. The solo guitar. I love a good opera, but those are few and far between for me, much like epic novels. And so I stick to chamber music and novellas.

This novella? This is right in my wheelhouse.

The plot isn’t all over the place, but it’s certainly not linear. We learn a lot about the main character as we sift through his life and the tragedies of his existence. Every page finds something that resonates. There’s no moralizing. The prose is compact without being sparse. There are no gotchas or twists. It’s very honest and very direct. In that sense, it reminds me of A River Runs Through It.

That book? A River Runs Through It? I’m envious of anyone who gets to read that for the first time. I read it every year. It’s beautiful. Truth disguised as a poem disguised as a novella. That’s why, I think, I love novellas so much: they are that much closer to poetry. And poems are conduits for Truth.

Train Dreams will make its way into my collection, but I’m glad I got it from the library. Any excuse to spend time there and use its services is a good one. This book is about a 2 or so hour read for someone who went to grad school. Probably more for some and less for others. Definitely a new Must Read recommendation.