I recently heard about something called the economy of nothing, although I can’t remember whose theory it is. Take Diet Coke for example: zero calories, zero fat, no caffeine, no nutritional value – so what the hell are we buying? Essentially, nothing.

I too thought of Saussure. The narrator’s process of name creation is so antithetical to Saussure’s belief that phonemes are randomly assigned.

Flowers burst petals in arrangements never considered by the natural world, summoned out of dirt like stained glass. These beautiful hidden things scrolled to the horizon and he walked among them… He had a territory within himself and he would bring back specimens to the old world. These most excellent dispatches. His names. (35)

This guy believes that names have some sort of meaning, in and of themselves, something natural – only better. It is he who holds the power of unlocking their meaning and unleashing it convincingly upon the masses. As frighteningly powerful as ti sounds, we’re bombarded with campaigns like this every day.

I liked the link you have to House. He does fit the part; the limping man who likes to isolate himself from the rest of the world.

I am trying to grasp the importance of naming that you’re talking about. If a name has the power to destroy whatever it names (or the potential power) then what does that day about the name giver? He has a lot of power. If our main character is black then what does that make us think about his agenda? You are right, we don’t get much out of the first fifty pages. If the book is largely about race then I need to see more than the scattered evidence- not that it’s subtle, it’s just that I can’t connect it all yet. Nice post.