Named

LoveReading Says

“What's in a name?” This Shakespeare-coined question lies at the heart of Camilla Balshaw’s Named — a thought-provoking memoir of the author’s exploration of her own identity through the lens of a complex relationship with her own name. 

And the answer to that question, as Balshaw reveals in eloquently engaging style, is that everything is in a name. As she writes in the Introduction, “Our names are entwined with our identity. They are repeated in countless transactions, conversations and written correspondence…Without them, how would we function as a society?” But beyond that, names are tied to our very being, to who we are — the author, for example, grew up with an entirely different name, and she’s been named differently through her life. 

Framed through sharing her own story — growing up with a Jamaican mother, and estranged from her Nigerian father — Balshaw also shines a light on naming practices in a diversity of cultures, showing how names interplay with class and race, and impact our chance of social mobility. 

In short, Named is a touching, enlightening book for readers who relish finding fresh ways to view the world through non-fiction.

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen’s lifelong love of reading and writing began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, and very much wished that witches (and Mrs Pepperpot) were real.
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About Named

'Gutsy, entertaining and thought-provoking...A marvellous book.' Diana Evans

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