
Train Dreams
American novelist, 1949–2017. Won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2007.
Train Dreams is a 2002 novella by Denis Johnson. It was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2012.
On 2 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Denis Johnson
- First published
- Paris Review 2002; book 2011
- Length
- 128 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction shortlist, 2012
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Rural life, Adventure
Is Train Dreams worth reading?
2 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it: the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists) (Columbia University, 2012) | Shortlist | See the list |
| The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times, 2024) | No. 52 | See the list |
Best edition of Train Dreams
The edition we link to is the Granta Books paperback (2021), 128 pages.
- Publisher
- Granta Books (paperback, 2021)
- Pages
- 128
- ISBN
- 9781783787623
How critics, prizes and readers rate Train Dreams
Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 22% of the points available on prize lists, against 10% on critics' lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like Train Dreams
If you liked Train Dreams, try Tree of Smoke, Catch-22 or Wolf Hall.



