Anyone read The Names?

[wherethewildthingis]

Has anyone read this one. Really enjoyed it and keen to talk about it!

@pollyhemlockThanks, yes I re read the epilogue and it made sense to me! Think I read it too quickly the first time.

I’ve just finished this, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It had me gripped and I finished it in a few days. Well done to Florence Knapp! Look forward to seeing what she writes next.

“I listened to it on Audible with Dervla Kirwan narrating it with her beautiful Irish accent.”
She has a lovely accent @MonkeyTennis34 I preferred her doing the M&S food ads on tv than Dawn French.
She has a middle class Dublin accent.
Because I’m Irish perhaps I am biased 😀

For those that enjoyed this, I really enjoyed Nesting by Roisin o Donnell

Spoiler Alert.
I’ve just finished it and am in awe of Florence Knapp.
What a debut in fiction. 💐
Such a talented woman.
Please explain the ending to me - so she named him Hugh (I’m chuffed that I guessed she would call him after her beloved Dad who died young, prior to reading it in the book ).
Surely Gordon her husband would still hit the roof and physically assault and emotionally abuse her because she broke his family tradition ?

Am I the only one who was really disappointed by this book?

I don't think she calls him Hugh @deeahgwitch isn't that just another possible path but in Gordon's mind? I can't remember now.

@TheBlueKoala possibly you're the only one on this thread. I suspect most people, if they don't like a book that everyone else does, would just move on past the thread.

Loved this book. Want another soon please

Interesting reading this thread as reactions are mainly very positive. On Good reads there are many negative reviews. Personally I liked the book, I thought it was an interesting concept, and the endings for each variation character were unexpected. In my book club, 1 friend said they won't read it because DV and another read it and was surprised I liked it because of the DV.

Brilliant book!

On the contrary, I find it interesting to know what makes someone like/dislike a book. Maybe it's about expectations as well.

Well please don't put a downer on it for anyone who really liked it. Perhaps before I read a book I'm interested in differing views but not after.

@TheBlueKoalaI also didn’t like it. Firstly I don’t think it’s really about nominative determinism at all, which is what the blurb suggests. I also think it should come with a trigger warning about DV (not a personal issue, but perhaps for some).
I felt that because there were 3 different stories, none were really developed thoroughly or properly.
Nevertheless it’s very readable and I can see why others might enjoy it.

I'm interested that you don't think it's about nominative determinism @Yuja - why is that? I think it's exactly that. She chooses three different names, based on 3 different emotions in the moment, and all three options lead to different lives and different personality traits developing.

Because the three stories are in relation to whether the mum stays with her abuser or not, not about how the name itself impacts how he is treated or the decision he makes. The latter in my view is actual nominative determinism.

Nominative determinism is the hypothesis that people gravitate toward careers, hobbies, or life paths that fit their surnames or first names - this is the definition of ND and I don’t think the book is about this. It’s about what happens when she reacts differently to her abusive husband

I think they're all so intertwined in the book that it does count. Why is nominative determinism a thing? Because of many reasons, including how people react to someone with a certain name,but also including how that name was chosen, who by, what it meant to them and how that person then influences their upbringing.

I rushed the ending as usual
and will need to reread it but do we ever find out what really happened that day Cora goes to register the birth.

I suspect lots of people didn't like the book (I'm one) so I suppose it depends on whether a thread on here can be a critical discussion of people's differing opinions. I don't see why it shouldn't be. If a thread is intended only to be about how amazing a book is, I think the OP should state that in their thread title.

I thought it very contrived, rather over-sentimental and not at all convincing in terms of the outcomes in each case, for all sorts of reasons. I finished it because I always want to resolve a narrative.

I also didn't like it and said so but my post was at the bottom of page 2 and got missed!

I just didn't feel the characters ever came alive. They felt like cyphers.

Exactly. I expected to read lives being affected by their names but it wasn't at all about that. Maybe a more generous person can overlook that fact (even though this was what the book advertised to be about) and focus on the story. Personally the story wasn't good enough for me to do so.

I should think that a discussion on here about a book will take in various reactions to the book both good and bad @ColdSpringHarbor

Agree entirely. The thread asks if anyone has read it which will indeed solicit a range of opinions (which keeps a thread interesting!) if it’s only for positive reviews then you would expect the thread title to say as much. Then I’d have stayed away 🤣

I am so glad this thread is still going.

I finished the book in a day yesterday - I loved it.

I took the premise of the book to be what happens when someone chooses a particular name but from the point of view of it reflecting a profound life choice and the consequences that ensue. It seemed obvious from the prologue this is where the book was headed. It didn't occur to me to apply a strict "nominative determinism" criterion around that regardless of any tagline- that would actually likely result in quite a boring story: well, she called him "baker" and guess what happened next?

The book being a meditation the consequences of our choices perhaps resulted in aspects of the characters personalities/lives being more impressionistic than if she'd made one choice and run with it over 500 pages, but this didn't bother me. Taken as a whole, I thought it worked.

I had exactly the opposite reaction to @ColdSpringHarbor . There were places I was expecting the story to drift to these levels but for me she brought it back.

I really don't want to give away too many spoilers as there are aspects of this book I'd love to discuss in more detail.

Beautifully put @OVienna