{"id":276463,"date":"2025-09-07T09:27:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T07:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/?p=276463"},"modified":"2026-02-17T09:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T07:54:03","slug":"book-review-the-names-ponders-the-power-of-changing-a-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/book-review-the-names-ponders-the-power-of-changing-a-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Book review: The Names ponders &#8216;what if&#8217; in three parallel scenarios"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-book-review-the-names\">Book review: The Names<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-author-florence-knapp\">Author: Florence Knapp<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-publisher-jonathan-ball\">Publisher: Jonathan Ball<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"674\" height=\"1024\" data-attachment-id=\"276466\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/book-review-the-names-ponders-the-power-of-changing-a-name\/the-names\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Names.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1913,2906\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Names\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Names-674x1024.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Names-674x1024.jpg\" alt=\"The Names by Florence Knapp\" class=\"wp-image-276466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Names-674x1024.jpg 674w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Names-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Names-768x1167.jpg 768w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Names.jpg 1913w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 674px) 100vw, 674px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Names by Florence Knapp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Can a name change the course of a life? Knapp\u2019s debut novel sets out to explore this possibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/debut-authors-murder-mystery-keeps-the-pages-turning\/\">story<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019s, Maia&#8217;s and Cora\u2019s destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The story is about choices and the different paths one family\u2019s life could take. Knapp also handles difficult themes of long-term domestic abuse and generational trauma, love and self-discovery. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My only criticism is keeping the strands of the three-difference stories straight, because the lives of the boys \u2013 and their families \u2013 are so different. But it\u2019s an excellent read and all the more notable for being a debut novel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can a name change the course of a life? Knapp\u2019s debut novel sets out to explore this possibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":276464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"1","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"[\"choices\"]","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"28","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_polic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