Summary of The Names
“The Names” is a literary thriller set primarily among a community of American expatriates living in Athens in the late 1970s. The narrator, James Axton, works as a corporate risk analyst, moving within a world of business executives, diplomats and intelligence operatives. Threaded through the novel is the mystery of a secretive cult obsessed with language and alphabets, whose murders appear to follow an obscure linguistic pattern. Beneath its thriller elements, the novel explores the power of language to shape perception, identity and reality itself.
Reasons to read The Names
“The Names” is an ambitious and intellectually demanding novel that combines expatriate life, global politics, marital breakdown, and philosophical reflections on language. While much of the action takes place in Athens and the Greek islands, the story extends into the Middle East and India. It is widely regarded as one of Don DeLillo‘s finest works, alongside “White Noise” and “Underworld”. DeLillo, who lived and worked in Athens for several years, is considered one of the most important American novelists of the late twentieth century.
Setting: Mainly Athens and the Greek islands (Greece)
Original title: The Names
Year of publication: 1982
Nr of pages: 352
