Starred review from March 15, 2025
An imaginative exploration of the long-term unfolding of an abusive marriage. Knapp's debut is a kind of thought experiment focusing on the family of a British couple named Cora and Gordon, beginning with the birth of their second child, a boy who is nine years younger than his sister, Maia. In the prologue, it is 1987, and Cora and little Maia are off to the registrar to officially name the baby. Gordon--a respected doctor in the community, though a terrifying, violent tyrant at home--wants him named Gordon. But on the way to town, little Maia suggests he be named Bear, which "sounds all soft and cuddly and kind." The opening chapter shows Cora making three different decisions: In the first section, in a rare act of defiance, she follows Maia's suggestion. Next, she selects the name she herself most wants: Julian. Then she follows directions: The baby is Gordon. Each of the subsequent chapters--which are all divided into three sections--jumps ahead by seven years, tracking the consequences and implications of Cora's naming decision until the boy is a 35-year-old man. If the intention and construction of the book are a bit didactic, expressly designed to illustrate and explore the dynamics of domestic abuse, the boldness and thoughtfulness of Knapp's plotting add complexity and a welcome unpredictability. As supporting characters are added to each storyline, some appearing in just one, others in two or three, and as the main characters develop in different ways in each scenario, the novel's structure pays off as Knapp intended it to, inviting the reader to think about not just the ripple effects of a single decision and the workings of an abusive family but also about a profound and classic concern of fiction: How things we can predict and/or control in life interact with things we could never have seen coming. This noteworthy debut explores a sobering topic with creativity, cleverness, and care.
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March 14, 2025
Knapp makes her fiction debut with a novel that traces one boy's three alternative lives, one for each baby name that his mother is choosing between. Each name shapes his life, as well as his mother's, over the course of 35 years. The novel was bought in a 10-way auction and was a hot title at the Frankfurt book fair. Prepub Alert.
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Starred review from April 1, 2025
Does a name impact the trajectory of someone's life? That's the question at the heart of this compelling, emotionally wrenching debut. Cora Atkin is on the way to officially register her son's birth. Her husband, a well-respected doctor in the community but an exceptionally cruel man in private, made his expectations clear: The child should be named Gordon, carrying on family tradition. But on the walk to the registry office, Maia, Cora's daughter, offers another option. In a split second, the course of everyone's life irrevocably changes. The story then splits into three parallel narratives, dropping into Cora, Maia, and the son's lives every seven years throughout more than three decades, signposted by which name the son was given. Though readers may initially think there is a "right" choice, it becomes clear that things are not that simple, as reverberations of abuse and that initial choice echo in each time line. In clear, compelling prose, Knapp delicately builds a layered story about fate, free will, trauma, and hope. Each version of Maia, Cora, and Bear/Julian/Gordon feels fully realized and distinct while also sharing through lines between the different narratives. Both devastating and hopeful, this novel and its characters will linger with readers long after they finish the last page.
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