The Names of the Dead (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Stewart O’Nan
- First Published: 1996
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: The 1960’s to the 1990’s
- Setting: Vietnam and Ithaca, New York
- Principal Characters: Larry Markham, Vicki Markham, Ronnie Creeley, Donna
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: Family or family life, Memory, Marriage, Vietnam War, Adultery, Death or dying, Veterans, Soldiers
- Locales: Vietnam, Ithaca, NY
Stewart O’Nan’s principal character, Vietnam veteran Larry Markham, is the focus of two plots in two time periods, his wartime experiences told in lengthy flashbacks, and the life he endures twenty years later, with memories, war souvenirs, and a mysterious stalker linking the present with the past. O’Nan’s theme is evident from the start and is repeatedly reinforced throughout his interwoven stories—the lives of Vietnam war veterans are defined by their war years and resolution to their traumas is only possible by, at least symbolically, bringing home all those who died in...
[The entire page is 1253 words long]
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