Surprisingly Good Debuts

Debuts don’t always live up to their hype so it was with a touch of trepidation that I picked up The Names by Florence Knapp I have seen a lot of promotion around this in the book press recently and was intrigued but was ready to be disappointed.

I have to say that even by the end of the prologue I was already engaged! Just how important is a choice of birth name to a child or to the person they will become? Florence Knapp explores this by allowing her infant character to have three different names and for us, the readers, to follow the child and the family through three different versions of their life. It’s a bit like the film Sliding Doors but told in alternate chapters with glimpses into the progression of the different lives and allowing the reader to build up their own picture of events.

It is both intriguing and captivating with an insight into the delicate balance of family life as well as the darker side of marriage – to say more would be to spoil the full effect of the novel but I can thoroughly recommend it and would love to know what you think of it too.

Another debut that I somehow missed is by a local author. In one week two friends independently told me about this novel, a debut by Roisin Maguire, who is from Co Down. Night Swimmers is based in a small coastal community, presumably in South Down where the author lives. It is character driven with some lovely eccentric characters - Grace lives alone filling her days with wild swimming, fishing, quilting and baiting the tourists who blow in from the city. One of the visitors is Evan who is seeking refuge from his family in Belfast as he grieves the death of his infant daughter. But he is trapped there by lockdown and is gradually forced out of his shell by the unexpected turn of events and his protracted stay. His young son joins him unexpectedly and Grace’s reluctance to show any heart is broken down as the young boy breaks down her defences.
Night Swimmers has been likened to some of Claire Keegan’s work – the richness of the language and the slowness of life in the novel reflects life in a rural community and yes, it would remind me a bit of Small Things Like These, but this novel is more relatable in my view, with the rediscovery of the need for human connection through isolation in various forms making it more current. It is a heartwarming story and one I enjoyed - definitely another one worth recommending!

Books on the Catalogue:

Night Swimmers by Roisin Maguire
The Names by Florence Knapp

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