Alex’s Reviews > The Names > Status Update
Alex
is on page 6 of 336
"Cora wants to say it matters because sometimes big men feel small inside. Because some people- like Gordon's father -travel through life believing themselves so far beyond improvement, they come to think their children, and their children's children, should all be made in their name. Because sometimes their need to please previous generations is greater than their need to love the future ones."
— Jul 07, 2026 04:19PM
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Alex’s Previous Updates
Alex
is on page 142 of 336
"Yes, his name was Maia's choice, but why would a man like that have agreed to break with tradition to call his son Bear?"
Bear is so shielded from his past and his father compared to Julian and Gordon
— 2 hours, 23 min ago
Bear is so shielded from his past and his father compared to Julian and Gordon
Alex
is on page 112 of 336
"She said the most dangerous time is just before a woman leaves, or just after. That that's the time when the - the risk to life is greatest... She said that's why women stay, because leaving a man like that is even more dangerous."
— 6 hours, 14 min ago
Alex
is on page 110 of 336
"But you know, Maia, if you ever get to wanting to talk about her - how you remember her, like - then I'd want to hear. Although staying quiet... she's just as much in your heart that way too, of course."
Cian - oh, my heart. Love is expressed in so many different ways
— 21 hours, 52 min ago
Cian - oh, my heart. Love is expressed in so many different ways
Alex
is on page 84 of 336
"Cora thinks about it all the time. About Gordon turning eighteen. It's only eleven years away and she's lived like this far longer than that already. But she doesn't tell mother any of this."
— 22 hours, 17 min ago
Alex
is on page 81 of 336
"... like some kind of bag lady. Maia thinks about this and is shocked to realize how little separates them. Her mother lives in a warm house and is bought clothes to wear, but she has no more money or freedom than the woman who pushes a shopping trolley or scavenged treasures around town."
— 22 hours, 36 min ago
Alex
is on page 78 of 336
In each of these timelines, Maia has instinctively stepped up as a parent, a barrier, a protector
— Jul 08, 2026 02:37PM
Alex
is on page 77 of 336
"He wishes he was somewhere else. He wishes he was someone else. But he is Gordon."
— Jul 08, 2026 02:36PM
Alex
is on page 75 of 336
The stark contrast in these timelines is so jarring - one is seemingly normal, one has upended the lives of the children (and their grandmother) , while the other is just a constant state of pure fear and confusion
— Jul 08, 2026 02:34PM
Alex
is on page 48 of 336
I'm obsessed with the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter - they tell so much before the words even can
— Jul 08, 2026 01:15PM
Alex
is on page 38 of 336
I wonder if the environment and situation around her contribute to symptoms of postpartum depression? In the other narratives, she had a certain strength to her that seemed to empower her as a mother, where in Gordon's timeline she has such a disdain for him.
— Jul 08, 2026 01:07PM
