The Name of the World

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Denis Johnson

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Pages: 144 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0413771601

Pub: Methuen Publishing Ltd

Pub date: 2001-10-04

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 73924

Reader Reviews:

A sublime novella (21/36 people found this helpful)

'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!!!!

A concise, touching novella (7/19 people found this helpful)

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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