Northern Lights (O'Brien novel)

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Northern Lights
NorthernLightsOBrien.jpg
First edition
Author Tim O'Brien
Cover artistBob Antler
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Delacorte Press (US)
Publication date
August 1975
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Preceded by If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home (1973) 
Followed by Going After Cacciato (1978) 

Northern Lights is the debut novel of Tim O'Brien. [1] [2] The novel, originally published in August 1975, [1] [3] focuses on the relationship of two brothers. Much of the plot is set during a cross-country ski trip. [4]

Reception

Initial reviews of Northern Lights were mixed, [5] but many critics noted the heavy influence of Ernest Hemingway upon the style, mood, and tone of the novel. [6] [7] One critic observed that O’Brien’s writing style in this novel is a “deliberate parody” of Hemingway. [8]

Upon its publication in 1975, Kirkus Reviews wrote that:

”The very earnestness and clapboard verisimilitude of this first novel, manifested in speech that marks time rather than bringing events and personality to the flood, rescues the heavy-handed symbolism. It's a long, slow trek, but worth going the distance.” [1]

Alasdair Maclean, in the Times Literary Supplement , concluded that "O'Brien's ambition outreaches his gifts." [5]

At the time of its publication, Northern Lights was generally seen as a promising debut novel from a young writer. After a 50 year writing career (as of 2023), it’s now viewed as perhaps O’Brien’s most flawed book. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "NORTHERN LIGHTS | Kirkus Reviews" – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  2. ↑ Philip A. Greasley - Dictionary of Midwestern Literature, Volume 1: The Authors 2001- p395 0253108411 "…Northern Lights, was published two years later to mixed reviews. In 1976 O'Brien left Harvard without a degree to pursue his writing career, settling in the Boston area. Chapters from what would become Going after Cacciato ..."
  3. ↑ "Minnesota Historical Society".
  4. ↑ Patrick A. Smith Tim O'Brien: A Critical Companion 2005 p52 0313330557 "CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Even though an ill-fated cross-country ski trip consumes nearly half the novel, Northern Lights is perhaps more aptly categorized as character- rather than plot-driven fiction, focusing on the relationships ..."
  5. 1 2 "O'Brien, (William) Tim(othy) 1946- | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.
  6. ↑ Stefania Ciocia Vietnam and Beyond: Tim O'Brien and the Power of Storytelling 178138004X 2014 "Hemingway's legacy is, as one might expect, never felt more strongly in O'Brien's oeuvre than in his first novel: Northern Lights. Critics are nearly unanimous in acknowledging that, while showing promise, this book has serious limitations, ..."
  7. ↑ Mark A. Heberle A Trauma Artist: Tim O'Brien and the Fiction of Vietnam - 2001 p77 0877457611 "Besides its resemblance to one classic American postwar novel, Northern Lights also recalls In Our Time, Hemingway's modernist pastiche of intrusive World War I and bullfighting scenes, first-person reminiscences, and postwar stories."
  8. 1 2 "Tim O'Brien | Databases Explored". www.gale.com.
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