Seek: Reports from the Edges of America & Beyond

That's one of the main reasons I really like Denis Johnson. He is an evolution of Jack Kerouac, minus the jazz and plus the confusion. He's a Jack Kerouac who could live a stable life and write about America after making a living on his books. Hippies comprise a large percentage of America's soulful reality. It's there you find the dead-end dreamers and romantics. Hemingway these days is in the Peace Corps or selling LSD on some parking lot. I also like the parts about Africa and Kuwait. Johnson, you can send me a postcard anytime from anywhere.

After the slightness of THE NAME OF THE WORLD, and the somewhat scattered ALREADY DEAD, Johnson returns to the form that made JESUS' SON such a classic in this collection of articles. The standout is hands-down the last piece on his f**cked-up experiences in Liberia. Also good are the glimpses you get into Johnson's personal life, including his marriage and subsequent honeymoon in the wilds of Alaska, where they try to pan for the gold from which they plan to fashion their wedding rings; the highly disorganized hippie festival he goes to; the bikers for Jesus; his short piece on his brief stint as a Boy Scout. If you're already a Johnson fan, SEEK is cause for celebration.

Who could resist writing that sounds like a combination of Hunter S. Thompson and Julian Barnes? These stories delight but also provoke. Despite the author's avowed stoner tendencies, the writing is always snappy: there are no excess words.

Who could resist writing that sounds like a combination of Hunter S. Thompson and Julian Barnes? These stories delight but also provoke. ... the writing is always snappy: there are no excess words.