Name: Already Dead
Rating: 3.75 (6 reviews)

Denis Johnson

The protagonist is Nelson Fairchild, a rich man's son who grows marijuana in California and who has cheated a dealer. If he doesn't settle his debt he will be killed. But the person who holds the purse strings is his wife and she won't give him money, so Fairchild decides to kill her.

A California Gothic

Already Dead

A contemporary noir, Already Dead is the tangled story of Nelson Fairchild Jr., disenfranchised scion to a northern California land fortune. A relentless failure, Nelson has botched nearly every scheme he's attempted to pull off. Now his future lies in a potentially profitable marijuana patch hidden in the lush old-growth redwoods on the family land. Nelson has some serious problems. His marriage has fallen apart, and he may lose his land, cash and crop in the divorce. What's more, in need of some quick cash, he had foolishly agreed to smuggle $90,000 worth of cocaine through customs for Harry Lally, a major player in a drug syndicate. Chickening out just before bringing the drugs through, he flushed the powder. Now Lally wants him dead, and two goons are hot on his trail. Desperate, terrified and alone, for Nelson, there may be only one way out. This is Denis Johnson's biggest and most complex book to date, and it perfectly showcases his signature themes of fate, redemption and the unraveling of the fabric of today's society. Already Dead, with its masterful narrative of overlapping and entwined stories, will further fuel the acclaim that surrounds one of today's most fascinating writers.

very fun, language was nice, very dude-bro. not sure if i liked where the story went (detective novel-ish) but the first half was awesome

yasi

Anthony Sabourin

It's the Johnson take on a Stephen King book: metaphysical murder musings that gave me bad dreams. A worthy read - some of his most beautiful writing paired with a digressive plot that never quite coheres or disperses in the way you want it to.

Already Dead A California Gothic

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