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.

Multiverse or parallel lives fiction frequently features experimental structural techniques, as traditional linear narratives cannot accommodate simultaneous diverging storylines. Authors often use interweaving or recursive looping structures to present the fluidity and complexity of human choice and possibility. For example, in Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, the narrative shifts back and forth between Ursula’s various incarnations. Knapp addresses this structural challenge by dividing the story into three concurrent timelines, each with its own arc and resolution across seven-year intervals.

Novels depicting parallel lives necessarily involve repetition, as events recur in different narratives. Knapp avoids monotony in The Names by clearly differentiating the worlds her characters inhabit. For example, Julian’s narrative involves a change in geographical setting as he is raised in Ireland. Consequently, his dialogue has a distinct Irish inflection that his counterparts lack. Although Cora’s husband goes to prison in both Bear and Julian’s narratives, the murder victim differs. Perhaps most significantly, Bear dies in his storyline, while the other versions of himself survive, emphasizing the fragility of life.

Strategic repetition and juxtaposition in The Names, such as the recurrence of the minor characters Lily and Felix, create echoes between the narratives. The differing roles Lily and Felix play in the parallel storylines underscore how seemingly minor decisions can result in drastically different outcomes. The novel’s themes, symbols, and motifs provide additional cohesivity, drawing together the separate narratives. The Effects of Domestic Abuse lie at the heart of all three storylines as the author traces the enduring impact of Gordon’s violence on Cora and her children.

The Names demonstrates how the use of multiple timelines in fiction can enhance the complexity of characters, allowing their personality traits to be revealed more fully. Although Bear, Julian, and Gordon Jr. evolve differently, they share an innate sensitivity that reinforces the idea that they are three versions of the same person shaped by different circumstances. For example, even Gordon Jr.—who initially mimics some of his father’s abusive behavior—begins the novel with an underlying emotional vulnerability that becomes distorted by his father’s influence. The ways Bear, Julian, and Gordon Jr.’s lives deviate from each other allow Knapp to explore the nature of human identity and experience, delving into themes such as fate versus free will, nature versus nurture, and the unpredictable consequences of choice.