I ‘ve heard a lot of good things about The Names by Florence Knapp. It’s the book on everyone’s reading lists at the moment, and looking at the blurb, I felt it had an interesting premise. It looks at the power and consequence of names, first rather than surnames, and essentially pulls together three short stories, featuring the same lead characters, the only difference is the name of one of them.
Opening sentence: Cora’s mother always used to say children were whipped up by the wind, that even the quiet ones would come in after playtime made wild by it.
Bear, Julian and Gordon
Cora has a 9-year-old daughter, Maia (a name that means mother) when she gives birth to her son. It’s the task of choosing a name for her son that The Names hooks on. This book imagines three versions of Cora and her children’s lives, all altered simply by what Cora decides to call her son.
The thing is, Cora is married to the controlling and overbearing, Gordon. (Trigger warning: Domestic violence feature in all the stories.) He expects his son to be named Gordon after him, so in one version, he is.
In another Cora decides to call him Julian, a name that means father, in an attempt to meet gordon halfway in his expectations. In the third, Maia suggests the name Bear for her little brother, and despite knowing that Gordon will hate it, Cora is willing to take the consequences and calls her son, Bear.
She has edited away all the unsavoury parts of herself, to leave a version that is nowhere near the truth.
The Names is then told in increments over the years where we find out what’s happening to each version of the son and his family. It’s a very clever and satisfying way to read.
You could argue that nothing out-of-the-ordinary happens to any versions of the son, they are all trying to navigate life as best they can. But all with different outlooks due to how they have been treated, due to what they were named. It’s actually Cora’s story that I found the most drawn to and heartbreaking. All versions detail how easy it is for women to loose themselves to controlling men.
I found The Names to be hugely emotional and so lyrical, it could have easily had a repetitive element but didn’t due to each version having such a strong hook. Florence Knapp has a really engaging way of writing, honing in on emotional nuances and poetic phrases to fully engage you. Totally see why this is beloved by so many.
- Get your copy of The Names here;
- Published by HarperCollins 2025;
- 344 pages;
- My book review rating:
Books on the 7:47 