Book review: The Names
Author: Florence Knapp
Publisher: Jonathan Ball
Can a name change the course of a life? Knapp’s debut novel sets out to explore this possibility.
The story is set in 1987. In the aftermath of a storm, Cora is walking to the registry office with her 9-year-old daughter Maia to name her newborn son.
Her husband, Gordon, a respected doctor by day and tyrant at home, expects the baby to continue the family tradition and bear his name. But Cora hesitates. She fears history will repeat itself. What if a name could change the course of a life?
On a whim she considers three names: Gordon (immovable, looming), Bear (soft, cuddly, brave, strong) and Julian (a gentle-sky father). From that single moment the story splinters into a trio, exploring how that choice shapes the boy’s, Maia’s and Cora’s destiny.
The story is about choices and the different paths one family’s life could take. Knapp also handles difficult themes of long-term domestic abuse and generational trauma, love and self-discovery. It’s a gripping, heart-wrenching, moving story of hope and resilience, neither dark nor depressing. The characters are deeply relatable and the message lingers long after the last page.
My only criticism is keeping the strands of the three-difference stories straight, because the lives of the boys – and their families – are so different. But it’s an excellent read and all the more notable for being a debut novel.
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