Written by American author Denis Johnson, The Name of the World (2001) tells the story of a man named Michael Reed, a man who is haunted by the death of his wife and child. After their life, he has spent his life in an incredibly numb state and consistently struggles to care and connect with other people. However, something happens which forces him to escape his numbness and which forces him to start caring about his life - and the life of those around him.
When it was released, The Name of the World received mostly positive reviews from critics - less so from audiences, though. Kirkus Reviews, for example, liked the book, saying that it is "A new wrinkle on the overworked contemporary theme of lives lived on the edge, and one of Johnson’s most interesting books." Publisher's Weekly thought similarly, writing that the book is "Spare, introspective, and arresting" and opining that "Johnson's eloquent examination of one man's persistent inability to extricate himself from the tenacity of grief manages to be both lyrical and raw."
