The Names by Florence Knapp
Published by Pamela Dorman Books
Publication date: May 6, 2025
Genres: Book Clubs, Debut, Fiction, Literary
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It feels odd to say that a book that left me so saddened and troubled was a favorite, but it’s the case with author Florence Knapp’s debut, The Names. This is an alternate realities story about an infant boy whose mother, Cora, in three scenarios, chooses a different name for him. The story follows the boy, his mother, and his older sister through the three lives they would have experienced based on his name. Or more specifically, how his father Gordon responded to each of the names and its impact on their lives. Because as far as he is concerned a first-born son should be given his father’s name and no other.
This was a difficult read for me because Knapp did such a masterful job stripping away the premise about a baby’s name to reveal the more insidious realities of what a mother will do to protect her children. Regardless of her son’s names Cora is still subjected by Gordon to the kind of abuse designed to rob her of any vestiges of self-esteem or independent thought. As a family doctor in a small British town, he wears a mask of respectability and care while she bears the brunt of his sadism. His children live with the results of his actions, warping them in ways that manifest in all three realities.
It’s a credit to Knapp’s prose that The Names hurt so much. Her writing is understated, precise, and profound even in service of characters who don’t deserve the grace. Reading about the impact of the abuse on Cora and her state of mind and quality of life and what it does to her children and their lives was challenging. This is not a novel of overt physical abuse, rather it’s the insidious drip of emotional abuse, degradation, and control that felt like acid being dripped onto my skin. Despite the challenging subject matter in The Names Knapp’s voice is one I want to hear again.
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*I received a free copy of this book from Pamela Dorman Books in exchange for an honest review.*
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