The Names

★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

256 pages

What’s it about?

This novel spans thirty-five years, presenting three distinct scenarios in the life of one family. Cora and her 9-year-old daughter, Maia, set off one day to register the name of Cora's newly born son. Her domineering husband Gordon wants him to be his namesake, but Cora is hesitant. The book follows this family over the decades in three separate stories, depending on which name Cora selected that day and the fallout from that choice.

What did it make me think about?

"The butterfly effect"- a concept in chaos theory, explains how a small change in an initial condition of a system can lead to dramatically different outcomes. It's often illustrated with the metaphor of a butterfly flapping its wings in one place causing a hurricane elsewhere. This idea highlights the sensitivity of complex systems to minor variations and the difficulty of predicting long-term outcomes.

Should I read it?

I was somewhat hesitant about this one. It just sounded gimmicky. I was very wrong! It is a very innovative novel with lots to think about. I was emotionally invested in these characters, even though they evolved into very different people depending on the circumstances (or the name...). For me, this was a page-turner because I wanted to know what would happen to the characters. This novel is about domestic abuse- but the author handles it with such grace and provides no easy answers. We see love and pain in all three scenarios. An awe-inspiring debut! Another novel that I will not fully appreciate until I have discussed it with lots of people. So I hope my friends pick this one up! This will make a solid book club pick in the upcoming year.

A passage I marked

"Because tomorrow- if morning comes, if the storm stops raging- Cora will register the name of her son. Or perhaps, and this is her real concern, she'll formalize who he will become."