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4.0
The Names
ByPublisher Description
Can a name shape the course of a life?
In the wake of the 1987 storm, Cora sets off with her 9-year-old daughter Maia to register her son's birth. Her husband Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to follow his family tradition going back generations, and name the child Gordon. But on the journey there, Cora wonders if it's right to impose the burden of this name and its legacy onto her newborn son. She herself has Julian in mind, and Maia offers up her own Bear.
What follows are three alternate and alternating versions of her son's life shaped by Cora's last-minute choice of name. Spanning thirty-five years, the novel takes in themes of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.
In prose as precise and intimate as it is thrilling, Knapp draws us in from the very first page, ushering in the tenderness of close family connections, as we follow three unforgettable journeys, each heart-pounding in its own way. With echoes of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and deep characterisation reminiscent of Ann Patchett and Maggie O'Farrell, Knapp's debut will make you gasp as you root for Cora, Maia and Bear/Julian/Gordon, weighing up which has been the better life, not just for the central character but also for his mother, grandmother, and sister.
In the wake of the 1987 storm, Cora sets off with her 9-year-old daughter Maia to register her son's birth. Her husband Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to follow his family tradition going back generations, and name the child Gordon. But on the journey there, Cora wonders if it's right to impose the burden of this name and its legacy onto her newborn son. She herself has Julian in mind, and Maia offers up her own Bear.
What follows are three alternate and alternating versions of her son's life shaped by Cora's last-minute choice of name. Spanning thirty-five years, the novel takes in themes of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.
In prose as precise and intimate as it is thrilling, Knapp draws us in from the very first page, ushering in the tenderness of close family connections, as we follow three unforgettable journeys, each heart-pounding in its own way. With echoes of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and deep characterisation reminiscent of Ann Patchett and Maggie O'Farrell, Knapp's debut will make you gasp as you root for Cora, Maia and Bear/Julian/Gordon, weighing up which has been the better life, not just for the central character but also for his mother, grandmother, and sister.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Names Reviews
4.0
“When I saw multiple people on social media giving this book a 5 star, I was interested to see what my thoughts would be like. I was a bit disappointed. The concept is interesting, I liked how in every universe the father was the same type of guy because that showed a really good example of domestic violence. I liked Bear's story the best, but the other 2 stories/scenarios were honestly quite boring and underwhelming. I didn't retain any information about the 2 other stories because there were too many unecessary details that weren't that important. The first half of the book was better than the second half. For me, the book was okay, it wasn't that special and I'm honestly suprised by how many people loved it.”
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