This was a tough book to read because of the domestic abuse, but was definitely thought provoking. I must admit I was quite confused with the three parallel stories and kept thinking I was missing something until I finally understood how the story was unfolding. Definitely ambitious.

We all really enjoyed this book! Cora and Gordon have recently had a baby boy and Gordon wants to carry on the family tradition of naming their son Gordon as generations has before. But Cora doesn’t love it and her own choice Julian. Their 9 yr daughter also has her own opinion on what to call the baby, Bear. The story explores the families lives in three different ways in which the son was named each of these names.

It was such a unique way to tell a story! They each follow very different paths and some were hard to read at times. I loved that it followed both Maia and Bear/Julian/Gordon and the very different ways their lives change. Each time the POVs switched jumped 7 years so it was interesting to parallel stories at the same age following different journeys. This was a great book club book because there was so much to discuss! This books has heavier parts so please read content warnings for domestic abuse.

Does your name make a difference in the life you will lead? The Names would make an excellent book club pick, as there would be so much to discuss! This book spans 35 years, and covers three alternate versions of Cora's life, along with the lives of her children, one of which is a son. In each version the son has a different name and they all have entirely different lives. The premise of this book is quite unusual and unique and it gives the reader a lot to think about. That being said, I found it a lot to keep straight and I got confused several times because the characters are all the same, and yet entirely different. There is a very large domestic violence trigger warning for this book, so please keep that in mind. I really find the different realities described in the book to be less about the boy's name and more about Cora's actions in response to her husband's abuse. The story is told from multiple POVs which gives the reader a lot of perspective on the entire family. I wanted to connect more with the characters but I had a hard time doing so.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking Penguin for the DRC in exchange for my honest review.

Cora, has to register her son’s name. We are taken through 3 alternating stories based on the 3 names she is between. Does she go the ‘safe’ route? Does she go with the name she loves? How does a name change ones legacy so early?

Gorgeous and wholly original, The Names follows the celebrations and catastrophes of a family in three tellings - one where the son is named Gordon, one Julian, and one Bear. I fell in love with Knapp's use of seemingly insignificant supporting characters who, in parallel stories, show up with an impact. This is a masterful family drama that asks us to interrogate the sometimes life-change impact of our small choices.
TW. domestic violence

Thanks to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for the ARC.

This took me most of the summer to finish. I would read a chapter, then feel the need to set it down for something lighter. The marketing says this is a very hopeful book, but fails to mention that you have to get through a lot of severe domestic abuse scenes to get to that hope. It wasn't until the halfway point that I really got into the book, but the way the beginning is handled is uncomfortable. This is also a book that doesn't have a 'plot' in the traditional sense due to the use of three different timelines. Its harder to connect to the characters when they change between timelines. Problems are introduced in the 7-year time jumps that there was no inkling of before that. Overall, this just comes off as a bookclub offering that doesn't deliver on what it set out to do.

Such a fascinating premise: what’s (really) in a name? We follow the same family into three different fates according to the name given to the baby boy born at the start of the book. Engaging, fun, introspective read.

This was one of those books that I wanted to keep reading, without actually having to get to the end.
When a baby boy is born, a mother has to decide if she's going to name him after his father, as requested, or choose a name more to her liking.
In the vein of Sliding Doors, this was really three different stories, using all the same characters, whose lives are completely different, depending on which name was chosen.
All three of the versions were great, and equally good as each other. I was sad for this one to end.
Thanks to #netgalley and #pameladormanbooks for this #arc of #thenames by #florenceknapp in exchange for an honest review.

HIGHLY recommend this book. Finished in 2 days. Could not put this one down. Go read this right now.

Wonderfully written. You are drawn into the story immediatly and it doesn't let go. I enjoyed the writting ao much that I read the book in 2 different ways - first how it was written; second reading the storyline by character. It provides a deeper picture to the fabulous book.

4.5*
Knapp’s novel is creative and inventive. She imagines one family and the different path that might be taken if the newborn second child is given three particular names. In the first scenario Cora lets her nine-year old daughter Maia pick a name when the two go to register the infant’s birth. Maia likes the name Bear because she thinks bears are cuddly and sweet. In the second plotline, Cora has decided she likes the name Julian, even though she knows her husband expects her to name the boy after himself. Lastly, there’s a storyline that follows the newly named Gordon, demonstrating that Cora has acceded to her husband’s wishes.

Throughout the book, each successive chapter alternates with the three names and follows the family for thirty-five years. First is little Bear’s story then Julian’s and finally Gordon’s. The three timelines repeat, giving a glimpse of the different paths their lives take, depending on the child’s given name.

The family dynamics are crucial to the book. The father, Gordon, is a highly respected doctor but he’s hardly revered by his own family. The spousal abuse that goes on in the house affects all of them and the impact is felt throughout the years. This is a serious book that tackles sensitive issues. The subsequent lives of Cora, Maia and Bear/Julian/Gordon differ in each of the threads.

Knapp’s book is riveting and captivating. The author has drawn in her readers with the emotional tale of a family torn by violence. Once started, it’s hard to put the book down because learning the future for these damaged souls is so compelling. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. Truly an outstanding novel that takes readers along on three possible “what ifs” and the devastating repercussions.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book. A quick note: I recommend this book but with a content warning for severe domestic violence. In 1987, Cora registers her son's birth with the intention of naming the child after her husband Gordon. Three different versions of the story emerge, one with the child named as intended, one with the child named as Cora chose, and one with the child named as his older sister Maia chose. Each choice sends Cora, the children, and her marriage down a different path. Readers may be tempted to chose which name produced the "best" outcome, but Knapp is thoughful about her plot structure and careful in her writing to prevent cliches.

This book was astounding—in concept, the way it was written with the divergent storylines, and the way it handled dark and challenging topics like domestic abuse. I had to put it down a few times due to the intensity, but I kept being drawn back. I finished it a few weeks ago and have thought about it almost every day since and recommended it to several people. One of my top reads of 2025 for sure.

The Names by Florence Knapp is one of the most powerful novels I’ve read this year. With just one choice, a mother naming her newborn son. The story splinters into three breathtakingly different lives, and each one is tender, heartbreaking, and unforgettable. Knapp’s writing is luminous, her structure ingenious, and her characters so achingly real that I felt every joy and every loss right alongside them. This is a novel about fate, resilience, and the courage it takes to shape your own story, and it will stay with me for a long time.

The Names is a literary fiction novel that explores three alternate timelines stemming from one choice, the giving of a name.

I was intrigued by the concept for this one, but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. I didn’t feel that the characters nor the domestic violence in the plot were handled or explored with much nuance or depth, which, for me, caused an emotionally flat and often frustrating reading experience. I almost wish the narrative focused on two diverging timelines, rather than three, and that the reader could spend more time in each. I wonder if some of the issues could have been alleviated, though I think some of the problems came simply from how the topic was handled.

It does seem like I am in the minority here, though. So, if you enjoy family narratives and non-linear storytelling, and the premise intrigues you, you may consider checking this one out.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking Penguin | Pamela Dorman Books for the complimentary eARC for the purpose of an honest review!*

This book is exceptional. It is heartfelt and heartwrenching and it is certainly one of the best books I've read this year. I cannot recommend it more highly.

The hype is definitely warranted for this novel, which was a Read with Jenna pick for May. I found the premise and format fascinating, as we followed the same family, in various timelines, through three different possible versions of their lives - depending on whether the first born son was given the name Bear, Julian, or Gordon. It asks: "Can a name change the course of a life?"
This is a difficult read in many ways, as it deals with domestic violence, but it is beautifully written and entirely compelling. There are many moments that are profoundly heartbreaking, but it is such an interesting study of character and child development. This novel would lend itself very well to a book club, as there is so much to discuss - in every version of each timeline there are pros and cons to the path life takes, as in real life.
I really loved this one and would absolutely recommend it! I'm excited to see what Florence Knapp writes next.

An inventive exploration of how names can shape and change the course of one's life, Knapp's debut focuses on an abusive marriage and the choices a mother makes that alter the futures of her children and herself. Offering three different versions of the same story and jumping ahead seven years at a time, Knapp's book might be a tad didactic in its structure, but it more than makes up for it in its storytelling and characterization. This clever, emotional, and thought-provoking book offers characters that are complex and fully human. The storytelling is gripping; this is a great pick for book clubs who want to sink their teeth into something that doesn't offer any easy answers. Remarkable and memorable.

This story and concept was so unique! I loved seeing the different ways one person’s life to go, based solely upon the name he was given at birth. This was incredibly heavy and filled with trigger warnings, so beware - but incredible!

What would your life look like if your parents had given you a different name? And not just YOUR life, but the lives of the people around you. In this exquisite debut by Florence Knapp, we see just how impactful a name can be.

The book opens with a mother wrestling with the “right” name for her infant son, while she and her nine-year-old daughter stroll through the village towards the registrar’s office to formally record his birth. Cora has three options: one her daughter has chosen, one she herself prefers, and the last, the expected family name of her husband and his father before him. As the book proceeds, we get a glimpse of their family life in seven year intervals, but in three “alternate” universes, depending on the name Cora formally records.

I felt the story was laid out with astute cleverness, tiny invisible strings even connecting one “name universe” to another across the timeline. Knapp also succeeds in giving each different “universe” its own joys and sorrows in such a way, that by the end of the book, it is difficult to say that one name was ultimately superior to the other two. The Names is just exquisitely well-written, and I look forward with anticipation to reading all that follows this beautiful debut novel.

One thing to note before diving in: this book deals with domestic abuse, and some passages are hard to read. That said, I think Knapp does a fantastic job of showing all the various possible ripple effects of abuse on each family member both as children and in later life. She even touches on why an abused spouse might choose to stay.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Penguin Books and Pamela Dorman Books for the advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.