Denis Johnson won the National Book Award for Tree of Smoke, and his first novel, Angels, received the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction. Out of his experiences with alcoholism and other addictions, Johnson wrote the acclaimed story collection, Jesus’ Son, which was adapted for the screen and named one of the top ten films of 1999. He is the author of several poetry collections and plays and serves as resident playwright for the Camp Santo theater company in San Francisco. Johnson lives in Arizona and Idaho.

Train Dreams

An Audio Reading

by Denis Johnson

Train Dreams tells the story of Robert Grainer, a day laborer who grows up working on the construction of the railroad across the Pacific Northwest. The year is 1917, and the country is poised for unprecedented change, when Grainer participates in the attempted murder of a fellow worker, a Chinaman. In this excerpt from the first track of the audio novella, actor Will Patton intones the story in his measured, husky voice, baring Grainer’s physical strength and psychological vulnerability.

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