Reading Adventure: "The Names" by Florence Knapp 🌌

One child. Three names. Three lives.

As we step into January, a month carved from new starts and roads to be traveled, this book asks us to consider the forks we can't unchoose. Cora's choice in a registry office ripples across 35 yrs, fracturing one boy into Bear, Julian, and Gordon. Each version shaped by the syllables whispered to the Town Clerk.

Come discuss which life gutted you the most, or which life you'd choose. Let's talk about the could-have-beens, and the version of ourselves we'd be if we'd answered differently.

Can a name change the course of a life?

In the aftermath of a great storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter to register the birth of her son. Her husband insists she follow a long-standing family tradition and name the boy after him. But Cora questions whether it is right for her child to share his name with generations of domineering men. And when the registrar asks, she hesitates . . .

What follows are three alternating versions of their lives, shaped by Cora's last-minute choice of her son's name. His life with the name chosen by his sister. And the name his mother set her heart on. Or maybe he was named after his father and raised in his image?

This is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. And it tells us of love's endless capacity to endure, no matter what fate has in store.

328 pgs

British Book Award for Debut Fiction (2026)
She Reads Award Winner - Literary Fiction (2025)
GoodReads Best Debut - Nominee (2025)
Up for Libby Award - Best Debut (2026)