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tacochelle 's review for:
The Names
by Florence Knapp
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thanks to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for the ARC.
This took me most of the summer to finish. I would read a chapter, then feel the need to set it down for something lighter. The marketing says this is a very hopeful book, but fails to mention that you have to get through a lot of severe domestic abuse scenes to get to that hope. It wasn't until the halfway point that I really got into the book, but the way the beginning is handled is uncomfortable. This is also a book that doesn't have a 'plot' in the traditional sense due to the use of three different timelines. Its harder to connect to the characters when they change between timelines. Problems are introduced in the 7-year time jumps that there was no inkling of before that. Overall, this just comes off as a bookclub offering that doesn't deliver on what it set out to do.
This took me most of the summer to finish. I would read a chapter, then feel the need to set it down for something lighter. The marketing says this is a very hopeful book, but fails to mention that you have to get through a lot of severe domestic abuse scenes to get to that hope. It wasn't until the halfway point that I really got into the book, but the way the beginning is handled is uncomfortable. This is also a book that doesn't have a 'plot' in the traditional sense due to the use of three different timelines. Its harder to connect to the characters when they change between timelines. Problems are introduced in the 7-year time jumps that there was no inkling of before that. Overall, this just comes off as a bookclub offering that doesn't deliver on what it set out to do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent