The Dark Secrets of Denis Johnson’s ‘Train Dreams’
The New York Times • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Clint Bentley’s film adaptation of Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella "Train Dreams" explores the haunting question of whether the bad things we do follow us through life, embodied in the character Robert Grainier, a logger in the old American West.
- Grainier, marked by personal tragedies and moral failings, experiences haunting visions and a devastating wildfire that destroys his home and family, raising ambiguous questions about guilt, punishment, and fate.
- The novella, set during America’s transition from the old West to the 20th century, blends precise moments with broad historical shifts and defies easy genre classification, combining elements reminiscent of the Old Testament, Hemingway, and Whitman.
- "Train Dreams" was a Pulitzer Prize finalist,
