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The Name of the World
 
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The Name of the World (Paperback)

by Denis Johnson (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd (4 Oct 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0413771601
  • ISBN-13: 978-0413771605
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 340,199 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Synopsis

Michael Reed is a man going through the motions, numbed by the death of his wife and child. But when events force him to act as if he cares, he begins to find people who - against all expectation - help him through his private labyrinth. Poignant and beautiful, The Name of the World is a tour de force by one of the most astonishing writers at work today.

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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21 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A sublime novella, 23 Nov 2001
By Jason Parkes "We're all Frankies'" (Worcester, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
'The Name of the World' is one of those fantastic novellas; despite its brevity (100 or so pages) there is so much here. This makes it similar to Camus's 'The Outsider' or 'The Fall' (more the latter): I have just finished it for the 2nd time and have got much more out of it (and can't wait to read it again!). Its concise nature is close to the Carveresque-style of 'Jesus' Son'- and the right change to make after the epic-'Already Dead' (which David Lynch should film!). This is similar to DeLillo's 'The Body Artist' (after the epic 'Underworld'); though 'TNOTW' is much better than that!

It tells the story of a widower treading water in tenure at a Midwestern university; it is set in the late 80's/early 90's and is about 'liberty'. I felt it to be similar in part to Kieslowski's 'Three Colours Blue'; if Raymond Carver could have written novels this is what it would be like...The novella moves between the deadend of the present to the past and takes in a future offerred by a student named Flower... This is a great book, as good (and as different) to 'Resusitation of a Hanged Man', 'Jesus Son' & 'Already Dead'. It is as good as the recent Saul Bellow's ('The Actual' & 'Ravelstein')- though without the sneering tone of that intellectual giant!...'The Name of the World' is one of the best novels of recent years; heck, any year. Pity a British novelist couldn't write anything as sublime as this! BUY!!!!

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7 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A concise, touching novella, 26 April 2001
By Jason Parkes "We're all Frankies'" (Worcester, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Name of the World (Paperback)
After the epic Nietzchean noir of 'Already Dead' Johnson gives us a shorter work, more akin to the portraits of 'Jesus' Son'...However, this novella (or short novel) has much to offer; it could be seen as Salinger writing about adults...It tells the story of a college lecturer, coasting his tenure after the death of wife and child in a car crash- in this way it is similar to Kryzsztof Kieslowski's film 'Three Colours: Blue'- the protaganist of each has to come to terms with the events and find a new meaning in life in order to move ahead...This could be seen as another 'campus novel'- it is not a million miles away from aspects of DeLillo's 'White Noise'. But as ever the musical sentences and simple poetry of Johnson wins through...The nearest American fiction has come to this novel of late is Saul Bellow's 'The Actual'- which shares the idea of 'those left behind..'...This book, despite it's slim appearance, is full of life and the things that make it terrible and wonderful and keep us here...Johnson seems to be moving away from the noir elements of 'Resucitation of a hanged man' and 'Already Dead'- with this kind of editing and this depth of introspection you can bet that he will be seen as one of THE major U.S. writers in time to come...This book is a good intoduction to Johnson; could his publishers think about making his works out of print in the UK available? (Fiskadoro; Angels; Stars at Noon...)This book is ideally read to some American Music Club/Mark Eitzel or, even Red House Painters...America, we may loathe your president, whoring himself to oil companies and pretending his daddy didn't help Sadam Hussain back into power, but we are jealous of your art...'The Name of the World' ends at the start of the Gulf War; a great book for the beginning of this century...
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