What’s In A Name?

The Names by Florence Knapp is a powerful contemporary novel that consumed me from the start. It is a very unique read – one life; three names and the imagined life of a baby with each of these names. The characters and scenarios are similar but different.

What’s in a name? Our names have meanings. For some, a name will conjure up a certain type of character which one either admires or dislikes. Names have the power to produce strong responses. Our names may reflect our character.

One of the leading characters is a baby. We follow his life at various key moments. He is the boy with three names that produce a sliding doors moment. He reflects the names he has been given. “A boy called Bear is someone who will be soft and cuddly but also brave and strong.”

There is a bond between the baby and his sister who is nine years older, and also their mother. We witness the cruelty of domestic abuse. It is horrifying to see the effect on the nine-year-old daughter who learns to be invisible and already knows how to placate her father.