1. ^Philip A. Greasley - Dictionary of Midwestern Literature, Volume 1: The Authors 2001- p395 0253108411 "A second [sic] novel, 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 ..."
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3. ^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, ..."
4. ^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."
5. ^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 ..."