Recommend books The Names: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

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The Names: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

★★★★

Florence Knapp・・Ended

Updated: May 6, 2025

Content length: 336 pages

language: English

Source: amazon

8.2

Score

5★

8%

4★

25%

3★

33%

2★

8%

1★

25%

Nanpin (male-oriented) novels Literary Fiction Ended

READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY | AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! “Dazzling. . . The Names is startlingly joyful. . . Knapp tirelessly and beautifully replicates not just loss and grief but endless rebirth and delight.” —The Washington Post “Elegant. . . this is a wholly original work.” —People Magazine "Book of the Week" “A magnificent novel, thrumming with life in all its pain and precariousness, yet suffused with the glorious possibilities of love and redemption.” —Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Horse The extraordinary novel that asks: Can a name change the course of a life? In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son's birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she'd like to call the child, Cora hesitates... Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora's and her young son's lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.

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📚 Why We Recommend It

In the aftermath of a devastating storm, Cora stands at a registry office with her newborn son and nine-year-old daughter, Maia. Her husband Gordon—a respected local doctor, yet a terrifyingly controlling presence at home—insists the baby be named after him. But when the registrar asks for the child’s name, Cora hesitates… and that pause sends ripples through the next thirty-five years, splitting their lives into three parallel paths.

Florence Knapp weaves these alternate timelines with breathtaking precision: one where Cora surrenders to her husband’s demand, another where she blurts out a name entirely her own, and a third where indecision leaves the question hanging. Each reality unfolds with starkly different rhythms—love strained by submission, resilience forged in defiance, regret lingering in what-ifs.

The Names isn’t just about whether a name can alter fate. It’s a profound exploration of domestic shadows, the tangled threads of family, and the quiet courage of choice. Every page hums with the tension of lives hanging in the balance, asking: When caught in a cage of control, can a single moment of hesitation, a single act of defiance, rewrite the story? Dive in, and let Cora’s journeys mirror your own—reminding you that even the smallest choices can carve out new paths.