The Names (1982) is the seventh novel of American novelist Don DeLillo. The work, set mostly in Greece, is primarily a series of character studies, interwoven with a plot about a mysterious "language cult" that is behind a number of unexplained murders. Among the many themes explored throughout the work is the intersection of language and culture, the perception of American culture from both within and outside its borders, and the impact that narration has on the facts of a story. While initially some reviewers found The Names intellectually rich but unsuccessful as a novel, it became regarded in subsequent years as one of DeLillo's best works. Plot summary Various business people, government agents, corporate statisticians gather in Athens, crossing paths before departing elsewhere. One estranged couple, a businessman and his archaeologist wife are there with their son, a precocious child novelist. Infidelity, cryptic remarks, the network of the global economy. Meanwhile, murders are discovered, committed by a cult attempting to align the initials of the victim's names to carved letters on an ancient stone. The businessmen await the arrival of a colleague, an obsessively ambitious filmmaker, who lays out an extravagant plan to film the cultists performing their bizarre ritualistic killings. Themes Language At the core of the book is the problem of language. Language is the way we connect with the world; thus, it is a means of opening the world or controlling it. It is these two concepts of language which struggle against each other throughout the book. The latter concept (language as a means of control) is embodied in the character of the archeologist Owen Brademas. Religion One character says, "It is religion that carries language. Language is the river of God." If language is the means of relating to the world, or even making the world, then religion in turn circumscribes or frames language. Language for DeLillo arises in awe towards the things of the world. That awe is religion. Religion is thus in some sense a surrender, a concession that things are fundamentally outside one's control. Writing As a manifestation of language, the written word is the most susceptible to control. Letters are static while spoken words are elusive. Writing can thus be a desire for a full presence "a lost language, free from ambiguity." It is this aspect of writing that appeals to Owen Brademas. He is seeking a language that has been