The Names

The Names is a high-concept novel that employs speculative and experimental techniques to explore a character’s alternative lives. This genre, often referred to as multiverse or parallel lives fiction, uses a “what-if” device to explore the multiple possibilities of a single human life. Parallel lives stories convey how reliving or redirecting a moment might change who a person becomes or even alter the course of history. Further examples of this form of narrative include Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library. In Atkinson’s historical novel, the main character, Ursula, experiences repeated deaths and rebirths, altering small details each time to try and prevent World War II. In The Midnight Library, Haig’s protagonist gains access to a mystical book collection where each title contains an alternative life based on different choices. The Names echoes these works in its structural play with alternate timelines but keeps its speculative element grounded in everyday domesticity. Its plot hinges on a single choice—whether Cora Atkin names her son Gordon, Bear, or Julian.