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Summary
In her first contemporary novel since Room, best-selling author Emma Donoghue returns with her next masterpiece, a brilliant tale of love, loss and family.
A retired New York professor’s life is thrown into chaos when he takes his great-nephew to the French Riviera, in hopes of uncovering his own mother's wartime secrets.
Noah is only days away from his first trip back to Nice since he was a child when a social worker calls looking for a temporary home for Michael, his 11-year-old great-nephew. Though he has never met the boy, he gets talked into taking him along to France.
This odd couple, suffering from jet lag and culture shock, argue about everything from steak haché to screen time, and the trip is looking like a disaster. But as Michael's ease with tech and sharp eye help Noah unearth troubling details about their family’s past, both of them come to grasp the risks that people in all eras have run for their loved ones, and find they are more akin than they knew.
Written with all the tenderness and psychological intensity that made Room a huge best-seller, Akin is a funny, heart-wrenching tale of an old man and a boy who unpick their painful story and start to write a new one together.
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What members say
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs L C Lathey
- 08-10-19
Funny book with a different storyline
I really enjoyed this book a different slant on the usual present day harking back to ww2. The addition of the mouthy kid provided humour and a balance to the much older mans perspective. Would def recommend.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mary T.
- 29-11-19
Wonderfully Narrated
Wonderful story, brought to life by the wonderful narrator. My book club pick and one of my favorites so far this year.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-02-20
Fabulous!
Loved this book. The story was simple but very interesting. So loved the relationship between the two. Loved Michael, Joan’s voice and Noah’s calm and unassuming New York drawl. Amazing narration - loved Michael’s lines. A good kid! Emma o Donoghue is truly gifted. This book was so different to Room, which I loved also, but such a lovely journey.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Pat Tobin
- 27-01-20
very atmospheric on a number of levels
I enjoyed this novel, having a strong sense of Noah in particular through a very good narration. Background to WW2 was good a while ending was somewhat inconclusive I think this made for a better story as that's how it is more often than not. And of course the whole other story with Michael was totally different and equally engaging.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Linda A
- 21-01-20
Fantastic read
Thoroughly enjoyed listening to Jason reading Akin. Great story with a fabulous narrator. I couldn’t put it down
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 10-01-20
Gentle adorable story
Adorable but not condescendingly so.
Subtley and tenderly told.
A relationship between an old man and a young boy thrown together by life's misfortunes. The boy's potty mouth is hilarious and scandalous. So if listening to an 11-year old speaking that way and sometimes referring to the old gentleman Noah as an a*****e isn't your cup of tea. Watch out..
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aisling
- 07-11-19
Stick with it
It took me a while to get into this book. i was disappointed initially because i didn't think it was as engaging as Room or Frog Music, which i loved. As the story progresses, however I found i was drawn into it and really enjoyed it. I particularly liked the way she described Nice with all its beauty and all its shabbiness, tourist tat and dog dirt. The main character, Noah undergoes a fairly predictable, but none the less lovely, transformation in the course of his week.
The narrator is good and switches convincingly between a tired, 80 year old man and an 11 year old boy.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 26-10-19
Excellent Immersive Story
I loved this book.Two parallel stories, one current one buried in long forgotten family history. How well do any of us know the "stories" others......
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- olderversion
- 22-10-19
Outstanding
My personal experience was of an extraordinary story, exquisitely read. Slow and totally engaging.