This book is one that's really going to stick with me - it's such an interesting concept, but with the wrong author it wouldn't have worked. Florence Knapp takes this concept and completely runs with it. The characters are so well formed, and their internal dialogue feels so realistic that it pulls you in to their world. The whole story has this kind of relentless inevitability that runs through it, and you find yourself rooting for each of characters agains the odds. I literally could not put this book down until I found out what happened - I'd recommend it to anyone.

A "Sliding Doors" concept but this time based on 3 parallel lives. Cora has to register her son's birth and more importantly his name. she has time to think due to the chaos caused by a storm. The name she prefers is Julian , but her daughter prefers Bear. However, her GP husband is expecting family tradition to continue with their son named Gordon, after himself.

Names are so important for a person's identity. ask anyone about their name and whether they like it and a story will emerge. Knapp takes this further by writing about the lives of Julian, Bear and Gordon. What happens in their lives is dictated by the choice she made on that fateful day. There are echoes and resonances through the different story lines.

The history of Cora's marriage to Gordon sets the scene, because it casts a long shadow over all the alternative story lines. In the marriage there is coercive control and domestic abuse. How will Maia his sister and Bear/Julian/Gordon deal with this history in their own lives? Will Cora stay or leave? This is depicted very accurately. maybe the author has done her research, but I hope she is not writing from her own experience...

A very thought provoking book. What do you now think about your own name?

This book was incredible. Its concept is fascinating and the story really gripping. It had the potential but the plot still manages to surprise you and create a whole rollercoaster of emotions

A beautiful 5 star read from Florence Knapp, The Names is so thoughtful with an interesting concept and three interesting storylines.
A fantastic debut.

Truly spellbinding. I was immediately captured by the prose and pulled along through the three timelines, all of which were beautiful, engaging, and heartbreaking in equal measure.

Beautifully written with intelligent, thoughtful choices. I'm reluctant to say too much and destroy the self-discovery. Cora has to register the name of her son. It should be a simple decision, but its fraught with consequences. The book explores three alternative pathways based on the decision she makes. Each name will shape a different path and impact both the child and the people around him.
Steeped in philosophical (what really shapes us) and spiritual considerations, we explore the consequences of decision and in particular - can a name shape who and what we become? Entertaining, and left me deep in thought.

A slow-burn love letter to love in all its forms
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In this slow-burn love letter to love in all its forms, Knapp draws out three potential universes where Cora names her newborn son Bear, Julian or Gordon. Each choice is driven by different motivations and the consequences for each play out over decades, with death always looming. Every character gets to live out a different life, the name a tiny catalyst to a universe of possibilities.

The sliding doors of it all is only the start. Knapp extrapolates three very different lives for Cora’s son, each one with relationships and events that shape the young man in subtly different yet significant ways. Ultimately, the book shows that the names may change, but love is what makes the world turn around. An almost perfect performance from Knapp and a book that bears re-reading for its hope and devastation.

Four and a half stars

I was intrigued by the concept of ‘The Names’ and knew from the opening pages that this was going to be unputdownable. It seems quite a difficult idea to pin down, yet Florence Knapp has made it all seem simple and effortless. I don't want to give any spoilers. Suffice it to say, I absolutely adored this book and am gutted to have to leave these characters behind. I can't wait to read whatever else Florence Knapp writes, for all eternity. Ingenious stuff!

A LIFE well lived will contain regrets, musings of what could have or should have been. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, it is easier to pinpoint random-seeming moments that ended up resulting in significant departures from the road being trodden. Matters of the heart, of career, of friendship can often hinge upon chance, but also upon choice.
Are the decisions that are made the chief drivers of your life’s course, or are things more pre-ordained than we’d prefer to believe? Do we really have any control over our fate or has everything been set in stone from the day we came into existence? Is one’s circumstance of birth the prime indicator of how life will pan out, our parents the true instigators of our destiny?
This concern with fate derived from decision is what is at the heart of The Names, a beautiful debut novel by Florence Knapp, that revolves around three distinct narratives. They all hinge on the decision of what to name a baby, with each narrative strand stemming from each choice.
The first name given is Bear. An unusual name by any standard, it is especially so in London, 1987, particularly when the baby’s father is adamant that he be called Gordon, after himself and his own father. A doctor, whose impeccable bedside manner is at total odds with his bullying behaviour at home, Gordon is as enraged as you would expect when his wife Cora comes home from the registry office to tell him what she has done.
Julian is the second name, a quiet act of defiance against her husband’s reign of terror from Cora. She hopes that its meaning – sky father – will appease her husband a little, by framing it as a tribute to him.
The final name given is Gordon. Cora, in this possibility, cannot bring herself to risk the wrath of her husband, and so bestows her baby boy with the name of his father, and his grandfather. He is to become the third Gordon Atkin, and expected to follow in each man’s footsteps, right down to the God complex each of them possess.
The three strands are picked up five times, at seven-year intervals over thirty-five years. As well as seeing how Bear, Julian and Gordon are faring with the name bestowed onto them, we gain insight into the lives of Maia, his sister older by nine years, and Cora, as well as other characters whose roles expand or contract in size depending on whose story is taking the fore.
The structure is anchoring, and even while the characters have defining characteristics they ebb and flow as prescribed by the section being read. One of the threads takes place largely in Ireland, while the other two stay in the UK, which makes for yet more distinction between them.
If I have one quibble with this otherwise overwhelmingly affecting book, it’s with some of the Irish-section dialogue and a slight unchecked presumption about the average Irish Catholic. Apart from that, the Irishness is a most welcome addition, that further explores the additional theme of nature versus nurture.
Another pivotal subject laid out in terrifying precision is that of domestic violence. Some of the passages depicting the coercive control and physical abuse are bone-chillingly harrowing, and very hard to read. It is the sign of a writer very much in charge of her craft that Knapp walks the line between awareness and gratuitous imagery impeccably.
In many ways, your name is your identifier, something that upon revealing gives an immediate sense of who you are to whomever is learning it – rightly or wrongly. It can often tell your nationality, your marital or social status, your preference for a nickname. It can also reveal your parents’ designs for you.
The Names plays on these assumptions with such considered thoughtfulness, it is impossible not to believe that the name you go by doesn’t play a small part in your destiny. But it also reiterates the point that none of us are the sum of our forefathers. That, although circumstances may dictate certain advantages or indeed disadvantages, given the right opportunities, the path you walk is one you forge yourself.

Wow, I really enjoyed this book. Whilst inevitably tragic and heartbreaking in parts, also very uplifting. More like three novellas woven into one, The Names has such a fascinating concept - one life lived three ways depending on one decision. Trigger warning though, domestic abuse is a key plot point. Also a really interesting Author’s Note to visualise some of the artwork mentioned in the book. Loved the symbolism of Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son - strangely I found the most comfort in Gordon’s story and character arc, which is not what I anticipated.

This was a truly beautiful novel. The trio of narratives worked so well, and made the entire book compelling and absolutely enthralling. It made me cry on a number of occasions, both due to the kindness of some of the characters as well as the devastation that occurred. It will be a book that stays with me for some time and I cannot wait to read more from this author.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

The effect of names and the split-second decisions, big and small, that we all make are at the centre of this brilliant debut.
Irish-born Cora takes her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, along to register the name of her newborn son in England in 1987. Stuck in a hellish marriage to a monster who is also a well-respected family doctor, Cora is supposed to name the baby Gordon after his father as is tradition in his family. But she doesn’t want her son to be weighed down by the name of an abusive, domineering man who has made her life a living nightmare, she also wants him to have his own name and identity.
Maia wants to name him Bear as it sounds warm and cuddly, Cora wants to go with Julian, which she likes from her book of baby names. She knows it’s a big decision to make and the fallout will be huge if she “disobeys” her husband.
The story then brilliantly splits into three threads, moving between England and Ireland, one where he’s named Bear, one Julian and one where he’s called Gordon and we catch up with each boy every seven years.
It’s more about the decision to give a particular name that sets each timeline up and each boy is different in temperament and shaped by the varying circumstances they grow up in but still recognisably the same child. The decisions also affect the lives of Cora and Maia and secondary but important characters whose impact in each thread differs.
There’s trauma and intense heartbreak but the story is also compelling and beautifully woven through time as it looks at issues such as domestic violence and the burdens carried by these families. The characters are also wonderful and will stay with you long after reading - an absolute must-read of 2025.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

An unbelievable debut. I will remember reading The Names for a very long time. The skill of weaving three strands, over countless years alongside beautiful language is genius. My heart ached as we caught up with Bear, Julian and Gordon. I think this book is very special and I urge everyone to read it. I've already bought the hardback to pass to my mum! I can't wait to read Florence Knapp's next novel.

What’s in a name? This is the question posed in Florence’s debut novel and what a rollercoaster it is. Before I read it I was inclined to think it just a take on the ‘Sliding Doors’ premise but it is so much more. At times tender and heart warming and in the next uncomfortable and distressing. It had me crying and cheering in equal measure. This is destined to be the book of the summer and a great reading group book.

This is a powerful book about a wife who lives in terror of putting a foot wrong. One stormy day and in spite of knowing the fallout it will cause she decides to register her new born son with a different name,. We are all given names at birth do these names define us? Told in 3 different timelines which, while disjointed but adds to the sickening underlying story of marital abuse and a mother trying to save her children and herself, A complex story shows that there are no easy answers. With thanks to the publisher and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I absolutely devoured this book. Such a brilliant concept, it really delved into trauma and the tendrils it spreads through people’s lives. It was a much heavier subject matter than I assumed from the cover, but it was so beautifully executed, I was completely invested in these characters and their stories

Three different names, Bear, Julian & Gordon. Bear is 9-year-old sister Maia's choice, Julian, Mum Cora's choice, & and Gordon, "chosen/imposed" by dad Gordon & his family, a tradition that isn't open to discussion and has to be upheld!
Three choices each with consequences, what happens in each different scenario of name is chosen.
Bear - the name chosen by 9 year old Maia who likens the soft cuddly qualities of a bear to her snuggly baby brother and her expectation he will become big and brave.

Cora knows she is taking a big chance disobeying her husband and the expectation of his family that, of course, there's no question their son will be called Gordon. Cora also knows that deep down, there will be a price to pay. She prepares by having friend Mehri take Maia swimming with her own daughter Fern. When Mehri offers to keep Maia for tea, Cora immediately accepts knowing it gives her time to tell Gordon and deal with any fallout before Maia arrives home. Cora hides Bear, her precious baby in a cupboard upstairs and prepares to tell Gordon the news. She greets him at the door, takes his coat, kisses him on the cheek as is expected of her all the while dreading what is to come.
When Cora reveals the name Bear, at first Gordon seems to think it's a joke and he smiles....then the anger explodes & the violence begins which continues until finally Cora shouts for help, which leads to the death of a bystander but freedom for Cora, Maia who has witnessed the abuse as she has grown up and the baby brother she named Bear.
Gordon is sent to prison, and Cora tries to build a new, happier life for herself and her children with support from friends Mehri & Roland. Cora is never truly free of guilt that her freedom came at the cost of another man's life and every year lays flowers on his grave thanking him for his intervention that day. It's only years later that Bear puts two and two together and realises this strangers death is connected to him and his name.
Julian - is the name chosen by Cora, meaning 'sky father', so in Cora's heart & mind still honouring his father Gordon without giving him the exact same name. Maia is excited as her name means mother, and her brothers name means father. It's another bond they will share.
Cora cooks Gordon's favourite meal, Maia helps set and decorate the table. When the name is revealed Maia chatters excitedly about it meaning sky father, trying to distract her father from the brewing anger. Gordon sends Maia off to run a bath, leaving him alone with Cora. Gordon is immediately abusive towards Cora and aggressively pushes her face into her half eaten meal, telling Cora he won't be letting this go. Cora silently says to herself this will be the last time knowing further violence is on the immediate horizon.
Seven years later, after being registered as Julian, he, along with his sister Maia, are living a new life with their maternal grandmother, Silbhe, in Ireland.
Further details of what happened that night, seven years before, are not revealed. Maia does discuss that she remembers hearing everything as she had covered Bears' ears, so he did so had no hands to cover her own ears.

Gordon - the name imposed, demanded and expected by Gordon and his family leaves Cora so disappointed in herself & resentful that she just went along with a name she didn't want, she finds it difficult to bond with baby Gordon. She finds it difficult in many ways and
her husband Gordon uses these 'failings' and 'neglectful acts' as a weapon within his abuse, and he threatens to take the children away from her! So despite choosing the name Gordon, the one her husband and his family wanted, Cora still suffers violence & abuse. Even when Maia reaches out to her maternal grandmother, Silbhe in Ireland Cora refuses to leave, knowing in her heart that Gordon wouldn't hesitate to take her children from her and deny her any contact with them. Which would mean leaving them at the mercy of an abusive man.

There's so much more to the book than the sections I have shared, each of the three names/lives/directions have their own positives and negatives.

I felt instant empathy with Cora, the descriptions of the familiar feelings of walking on eggshells. The overwhelming urge of wanting to keep the peace and please someone who will never be satifisedno matter how much you give or do for them. The instinct and protectiveness of moving your child to another room doing an activity meaning they hopefully won't hear and witness their fathers' outbursts. Then finally getting out, trying to rebuild a life but at the same time never being able to trust another man fully, wondering what their trigger would be to aggression, anger and violence.

I loved Maia's character, a second mum to her baby brother, and a peacemaker, pacifier, whenever possible. Sadly you don't realise how much Maia was aware of until later in the book as she grows older.

Then there's Bear, soft, cuddly, brave, and strong, or Julian 'Sky Father' or Gordon expected to follow in his father's and grandfathers footsteps. Whichever name Cora's baby boy is given, he may have elements of both parents, but it doesn't mean he has to or will become like his abusive father. He is also 'nurtured' and experiences life in different ways in different scenarios.

Although the book depicts a relationship that has domestic violence, there's also loving, caring, and romantic relationships within the book.

The book shows three alternating versions of the characters' lives covering thirty-five years. Each version of life presents its own version of healing, life going on despite the scars and shadows caused by domestic violence, and that ever present feeling that your abuser is 'out there' and could reappear in your life any time he feels like it.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing reading The Names was that though it brought back my own memories of domestic violence i enjoyed reading it, found it thought provoking, and I hope it raises awareness of 'what goes on behind closed doors' and gives those that are quick to say 'Why doesn't she just leave' something to think about.

Summing up this book is about the choices we make and the different paths we take and what they lead us to in the future, but the book is also a totally honest depiction of Domestic Violence and why it's not as simple as just leaving the situation, especially when children are involved and the abuser a well respected member of the community"

What a debut!

Taking her newborn son to be named, Cora and her little daughter Maia discuss what to name the baby. Will it be Gordon, after his abusive father; Bear (Maia's choice) or Julian (the name Cora sees as a middle ground that might offend less than Bear)?

Three narratives rise up from the mother's choice, with three different lives for the boy and his family. In the first narrative, two men die many years apart and one goes to prison; in the second, a woman dies; in the third, no one dies but the characters make some appalling sacrifices. Maia in particular, already terrified of her father in the first chapters, broke my heart, always wanting to do the right thing in all three narratives (and always gay, though sometimes she takes longer to work it out).

Bear is an easygoing hippy type who struggles to settle down, even though his girlfriend Lily is clearly the one. Julian makes a life in Ireland with his grandmother Silbhe and has no desire to return to the UK, meeting Orla and setting up his own jewellery business. Banker Gordon fumbles his encounter with Lily and his life is distorted by his father wanting to make him in his own image - but will he find a way to redeem himself?

An unputdownable book which plays fluently with hindsight (anything with Paris in the autumn of 2015 is going to be a difficult read) and sometimes it borders on relentless, but the comfort it offers - when it does - is real and earned. One of my top books of the year.

The Names is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story featuring split timelines where we see how a in-the-moment decisions can affect a life so profoundly…

Cara is with her 9 year old daughter Maia, and her tiny baby boy, heading to get him registered. Her husband wants him to be called Gordon, following generations of tradition. We then follow three different versions of the story: one where Cora names her baby Bear - a suggestion from Maia; one where she decides to call him Julian, a name she had been considering for a while; and one where she obediently registers him as Gordon to appease her awful husband.

Her husband’s reactions to each of the three possibilities change the course of the family’s lives, each in different ways.

I love ‘sliding doors’- type books and The Names is a brilliant example, with excellent writing and characters that feel convincing and well-rounded. Reading the different ways that Cora, Maia and particularly Bear’s lives pan out made me race through this book in a day.

This book also made me feel SO incredibly angry at times. The domestic abuse featured in its pages is really difficult to read and made me utterly incensed at the depravity of her husband, but it also demonstrates how hard it is to escape this kind of awful treatment, especially when you have children.

It’s a hard read at times but still completely absorbing and there are plenty of lovely moments too. I absolutely loved this book and can’t quite believe it is a debut!

I loved this clever take on the Sliding Doors narrative that asks ‘what’s in a name?’ A compelling and terrifying depiction of coercive control and physical abuse over three versions of a lifetime, but which still manages to be uplifting and focus on hope and beauty.