Reading Groups

In Short: Denis Johnson’s Train Dreams with August Thompson

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Thursday, 6:30 pm EDT - 8:00 pm EDT April 23, 2026

The Center for Fiction

Registration includes a complimentary drink from our Café & Bar. The ‘With Books’ option includes the titles required for this group at a 10% discount from our Bookstore.

Denis Johnson’s Train Dreams is a unique look at the malleability of memory. How does one recount a life that is both dramatically grand and intimately precise? How does the author make historical fiction feel timeless and contemporary all at once? We’ll inspect the work’s depiction of the morality of its time, how memory is impacted by a rapidly changing world, and Johnson’s formal approach to accomplishing all of this. We’ll also complement our reading of the novella by comparing and contrasting the book with the 2025 Netflix adaptation.

Reading List:

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson

What to read in advance of the first meeting: Please read Train Dreams in its entirety in advance of the first meeting.

Pricing inclusive of sales tax if applicable.

Led by

August Thompson

August Thompson

August Thompson is from the middle of nowhere, New Hampshire, and has lived in Los Angeles, NYC, Berlin, and Madrid. His debut novel, Anyone’s Ghost, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, longlisted for The Center For Fiction’s First Novel Prize and named a best book of the year by Amazon, Vogue and Elle. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, the New York Times magazine and beyond.

About this series

Reading Groups

Whether you’re looking to catch up on great novels or you’re interested in exploring a new writer or literary period, our reading groups offer high-level literary discussion led by experts in the field.

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