When Cora arrives are the office where she must register the name of her beloved baby boy, the decision feels like a weighty one. Does she give him the name that her husband expects or does she go with her heart? With a husband like Cora's whose expectations are high and exacting, it is no small choice. And in the novel that follows, we get to see three alternative futures that roll out from the different names that Cora chooses.
This book was breathtaking to me. It was deeply painful and upsetting at times, domestic abuse is such an excruciating thing to witness and process. But the rest of it? The joy and the beauty and the rebuilding? The messiness of family and relationships? The fluidity of our stories when we can believe that we have the power to shape the kind of life we want to have? The magical moments that remind us of how fleeting and miraculous this human experience is? It made me want to hug these characters and cheer for them and raise a glass to their resilience. It is lyrical and the wordsmithing just shines. After the few few chapters, I got good at keeping people and timelines straight, although it did take a bit of effort. For me, the effort was completely worth it. Five stars.
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