{ "item_title" : "The Names", "item_author" : [" Florence Knapp "], "item_description" : "READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY“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 Names is a truly gorgeous, heart-opening novel. I couldn’t put it down, and I’m grateful to have Cora and her children living inside my heart now. What a wonderful book!” —Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello BeautifulThe 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. With exceptional sensitivity and depth, Knapp draws us into the story of one family, told through a prism of what-ifs, causing us to consider the “one . . . precious life” we are given. The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional, gut-wrenching power are certain to make The Names a modern classic.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers3.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/0/59/383/390/0593833902_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "30.00", "online_price" : "26.40", "our_price" : "26.40", "club_price" : "26.40", "savings_pct" : "12", "savings_amt" : "3.60", "club_savings_pct" : "12", "club_savings_amt" : "3.60", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "30.00" } }

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Florence Knapp’s debut novel, The Names, grips from the outset. The book opens in the midst of a thunderstorm and presents a weighty dilemma: “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.” What name will Cora choose for her infant, suspecting as she does that it will define his destiny?

This poignant premise underpins the narrative that follows, charting the journeys of Cora and her two children over a span of 35 years. We witness their lives unfold through a tapestry of different timelines, each shaped by the choice of a different name for Cora’s son. In one, he gets the name his 9-year-old sister, Maia, likes, Bear; in another, Cora gives him her own favorite name, Julian. Then, there is her husband’s selection, Gordon—a name passed down in his family that Cora fears will also transfer his legacy of anger and abuse to the boy. Each timeline reveals the long-lasting impacts of domestic violence on a family and a life. 

The Names mesmerizes with writing that is both visceral and beautifully crafted, containing something of the timeless quality of Foster by Claire Keegan. Knapp’s economical language delivers powerful, full-bodied imagery that captures the stakes for the characters in every line. Readers will be immersed in Cora’s struggle to survive and in her children’s efforts to pick up and respond to even the subtlest family dynamics: Maia learns how to placate her father and her brother learns how to deflect attention from himself, understanding that doing what keeps the peace is sometimes necessary, even when it conflicts with doing what’s right. Masterfully working with all three timelines, Knapp presents a complex and deeply affecting story, at once heartrending and hopeful.