Tree of Smoke
Denis Johnson 
Picador
<p><span>Set in South-East Asia and the US, and spanning two decades, this is the story of Skip Sands, a CIA spy who may or may not be engaged in psychological operations against the Viet Cong; it is also the story of Skip's uncle, the Colonel, who is CIA as well, and either misunderstood or mad; and then there's Eddie, Voss and Jimmy, who Skip runs into - or from - every now and again: he doesn't know whose side they're on, but he does know it's not necessarily his. </span><br><span>Taking the reader on a surreal yet vivid journey, Tree of Smoke (the name given to a 'psy op' that might or might not be hypothetical and might or might not be officially sanctioned) is Denis Johnson's most gripping, visionary and ambitions work to date.&nbsp;</span></p><br>
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