“What’s in a name?” This quote from William Shakespeare is ideally suited for Florence Knapp’s debut novel. More specifically, Knapp asks you to consider the importance of your first name, which has been given to you and isn't one you chose for yourself. Could your name predetermine what your life is going to be like?

Many people in various cultures, especially boys, are named after an immediate relative or as a way of honoring a departed family member. In this highly original novel, Cora is on her way to register her son’s birth and is accompanied by her nine-year-old daughter, Maia. Her husband, Gordon, had made it expressly known that if they had a boy, the child was to be Gordon Jr.

"To watch this action spin out over a 35-year period is quite remarkable. There are tender and heart-breaking scenes, as well as moments of pure fright and disgust, which will make the reader reflect on the power of given names."

THE NAMES then breaks up the rest of the story into three completely separate speculative futures in which the boy is given a different name by his mother. We revisit him and his family every seven years for the next 35 years to see how his predestination is markedly different as determined by which first name he was assigned and the response to that name.

In the first storyline, Cora and Maia jokingly suggest a wild name like “Bear,” which is what Cora puts on the registry. When she brings the baby home and waits for Gordon --- a stuffy and uptight surgeon --- the story has its first feeling of pure suspense. Bear brings about a violent reaction from Gordon as he attacks Cora, smashing her head in their kitchen until blood is drawn. We learn at the seven-year mark that Gordon has been arrested for murdering someone, as his rage remains uncontained, and now his family is moving on without him. Bear would only know that his father is in prison for life.

The second storyline finds Cora and Maia settling on a name that honors Gordon without actually using his name. They select Julian, which literally translates to sky father. When Gordon arrives home and is told the meaning of the name, he starts out calm, but we soon learn it’s just a front for his violent undercurrent. He doesn't beat Cora, but he's quite abusive to the extent that we find Cora, Maia and Julian living with the children’s grandmother in Ireland after leaving Gordon for good back in England.

The final storyline features the boy being given the name his father intended for him: Gordon. The results here are probably the most shocking as the mere name identifies and bonds the son to the father. We see “the boys,” as they refer to themselves, tag-teaming poor Cora and going through a ritualist form of constant verbal and physical abuse that never lets up. It is sad to see a nearly 15-year-old Gordon being verbally dismissive and sexist towards a girl he is seeing. This is the same disdain and disrespect we see from his father in how he treats Cora and all the women he works with at the hospital.

To watch this action spin out over a 35-year period is quite remarkable. There are tender and heart-breaking scenes, as well as moments of pure fright and disgust, which will make the reader reflect on the power of given names. Florence Knapp provides a list at the end of the book that includes every character mentioned in the story and what their name means. I already gave you the meaning of Julian. It is interesting to learn that Bear means soft, cuddly, brave and strong, while Gordon is defined as great hill, immovable, looming; a hard climb to reach the other side. Quite telling, indeed.