Inside an Abusive Marriage
(NOTE: Some of the links in this blog are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase on Amazon. Thank you for supporting my writing in this manner. More details here.)
*****
This is the story of Cora, who is in abusive marriage to Gordon. They have a daughter named Maia who is nine and a new baby. The story is set in the U.K. in 1987. Evidently one needs to go to the registrar’s office after having a child to officially name the baby. And that is where the story starts. Cora and Maia are walking to that office and considering the baby’s name.
Of course, they are supposed to name him Gordon after his father – and his father’s father – a long line of domineering men. But Cora does not want “to pour the goodness of her son into [that] mold.” She is wondering if she might not be able to name him Julian, explaining that it means Sky Father, so one could still think he was named for his father. Meanwhile, Maia suggests calling him Bear because “it sounds all soft and cuddly and kind, but also, brave and strong.”
The book then goes into “What-if-Mode” as we revisit the family every seven years. In each of these visits with the family, we read different tales depending on if the child had been named Bear, Julian, or Gordon. And we visit them until that male child reaches age 35 in 2022.
It’s very clever. Very interesting. And only a little bit confusing at times.
A reminder to all that this is a story of an abusive marriage, so each of the possible family situations contains its own nightmare. And in every case, there is emotional fall-out for Cora, Maia, and Bear/Julian/Gordon.
I really like to read stories about how women get themselves into terrible relationships and hopefully get themselves back out again. This book, therefore, was right up my alley. And though it was wrenching to read at times, I liked it. And I learned from it.
This book was the May, 2025 pick for the Jenna Bush Hager Book Club on the Today Show, hence it has been very popular.
A final PS: For those pondering the Shakespearean question, what’s in a name, you will enjoy the pages after the book’s epilogue where the author gives the official meaning of each name used in the novel. As examples, Cora is the core of the story. Gordon is a great hill, immovable, looming, a hard climb to reach the other side. Indeed!
*****
Click here to learn more about The Names on Amazon
*****
Click here to join the Book Lovers Club. I post about three dozen book reviews a year. If you would like to receive them as I write them, please join the Club.
*****
If you like my writing, I hope you will check out my new book, Chai on Life. It contains 36 slice-of-life stories ranging in topics from belly fat to Billy Joel. It is available wherever books are sold and on Amazon. There is even a companion journal for you to write the stories of your life.
Chai on Life is available in 3 formats: Hard Back, Kindle, and AudioBook.
Leave a Reply