Can a Name Change Your Fate?

This episode's pick: The Names by Florence Knapp—a 2025 debut that’s been dubbed the best in years. It’s a literary “Sliding Doors” novel, but with three parallel lives instead of two. The question at its heart? What happens when a single choice—a baby’s name—changes everything?

In this episode, we cover:

Why The Names is more craft experiment than comfort read

The DV scenes that had us stunned (and one that had food on faces)

Who’s really the main character here—Cora or her son?

Why “Hugh” might have changed everything

How names shape identity—and your high school romance

The emotional distance that kept it from being a “Marry”

💋 And, of course, we rate it: Kiss, Kill, or Marry?

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro, T-shirts, and caffeinated chaos05:00 – The Names recap: three timelines, one decision12:00 – Bear, Julian or Gordon? Which name gave the best life?18:00 – DV, death, and dinner plates: the novel’s heaviest scenes24:00 – Why we rated how we did28:00 – Naming your kids: Sue, Anthea, and the sliding doors of Starbucks34:00 – Gordon’s (the father) final POV and a haunting ending38:00 – Would “Hugh” have changed the course of fate?40:00 – Next up on the pod and where to grab our merch

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