The Names by Florence Knapp

 

Cora has a decision to make. Should she follow family tradition and register her son with his father's name, even though she doesn't like it, or should she break with tradition? Can a name be that important?

I have seen loads of praise for The Names by Florence Knapp, I've no idea why I've let it linger on my TBR pile for so long. Saving it for a holiday read has certainly allowed me to immerse myself fully in this wonderful, stunning debut novel.

Cora is married to Gordon, a well-respected GP, and they have two children, nine-year-old Maia and a newborn son. It is expected that their son will be named after his father; it's a family tradition. Cora doesn't like the name and dreams of something different. The narrative splits into three distinct timelines, each with a seven-year gap, as the consequences of Cora's actions unfold on the day she registers her son's birth.

The three separate timelines allow us to see into the life of the boy, and the man he becomes, based on the name he is given: Bear, Julian or Gordon. Florence Knapp has created three very distinct characters based on the names. Alongside watching the child grow, we also see the effect the name has on the immediate family, much of it stemming from the day Cora names her son.

This is a powerful and emotional read. I found myself filled with such mixed emotions depending on which version of the child we were reading about. It is amazing to read a book that has you swinging so abruptly between sadness, hope, joy, fear, excitement, relief, and satisfaction, to name just a few, as you turn the pages. I cannot believe how much anger and disgust I felt at times towards some of the characters. There was also a feeling of frustration, the type where you want to pick up some of the characters and give them a good shake.

I've kept this review deliberately vague; this is one of those books where you really do need to read it with very little knowledge of what happens for the full impact to take effect.