Cover of Train Dreams

Train Dreams

Denis Johnson, 2002

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.

  • Critics' Darling

In historical fiction

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
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).

ListPlaceOriginal
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists) (Columbia University, 2012)ShortlistSee the list
The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times, 2024)No. 52See 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.

Critics
10%
Prizes
22%
Readers and booksellers
0%

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.

Lists used on this page