The Names

The extraordinary novel that asks: Can a name change the course of a life?

After a devastating storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register the birth of her newborn son. Her husband, Gordon—a respected doctor in their small community and a deeply controlling force at home—expects the child to bear his name. But when the registrar asks what she’d like to name him, Cora pauses. That single moment of hesitation splits into three possible futures.

Spanning thirty-five years, The Names follows three alternate versions of Cora’s and her son’s lives, each shaped by that one decision. Through richly textured prose and a brilliantly inventive structure, the novel explores the long, painful reach of domestic abuse, the tangled bonds of family and the quiet strength it takes to reclaim autonomy and begin to heal.

Profound, propulsive, and emotionally resonant, The Names is a gripping meditation on identity, resilience, and the fragile power of choice.