This “soul stirring” novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Room (O Magazine) is one of the New York Post’s best books of the year. Noah Selvaggio is a retired chemistry professor and widower living on the Upper West Side, but born in the South of France. He is days away from his first visit back to Nice since he was a child, bringing with him a handful of puzzling photos he’s … since he was a child, bringing with him a handful of puzzling photos he’s discovered from his mother’s wartime years. But he receives a call from social services: Noah is the closest available relative of an eleven-year-old great-nephew he’s never met, who urgently needs someone to look after him. Out of a feeling of obligation, Noah agrees to take Michael along on his trip.
Much has changed in this famously charming seaside mecca, still haunted by memories of the Nazi occupation. The unlikely duo, suffering from jet lag and culture shock, bicker about everything from steak frites to screen time. But Noah gradually comes to appreciate the boy’s truculent wit, and Michael’s ease with tech and sharp eye help Noah unearth troubling details about their family’s past. Both come to grasp the risks 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 an international bestseller, Akin is a funny, heart-wrenching tale of an old man and a boy, born two generations apart, who unpick their painful story and start to write a new one together.
“What begins as a larky story of unlikely male bonding turns into an off-center but far richer novel about the unheralded, imperfect heroism of two women.” — New York Times
The premise of this book is sweet: A 79-year-old childless widower, Noah, is suddenly told that he has an 11-year-old grand-nephew who has no other family and is headed for foster care if he doesn’t agree to take the boy in. Noah is about to fly to France, specifically to Nice, where he was born, to celebrate his 80th birthday. He has no choice but to take the boy along.
Akin by Emma Donoghue (author of Room) opens by defining the word ‘akin’ as applying either to those related by blood or to things that are similar. Both definitions apply to Noah and Michael, though understanding of the latter comes only gradually. When the two first fly out of New York, they seem hopelessly mismatched – a gentle senior who is a chemist by trade and an angry, disrespectful, foul-mouthed techie of a pre-teen.
From the start, there are moments of poignancy and angst between them. Noah is amazingly patient with the boy, more so than I would have been. But then, he also has the voice of his late wife in his ear, advising him this way and that.
Noah sees this trip as a way to solve one of the great mysteries of his background. He does that and more with Michael.
Akin is a quiet book. Some will say it’s slow, even too much like a travelogue when discussing the landscape of Nice, historical and otherwise. But the author avoids clichéd responses between Noah and Michael, and laces humor through the emotion.
Moreover, the story comes together around themes of grief, fear of abandonment, and personal discovery in a way that I found to be eminently uplifting.
Her novel Room focused on the relationship between a mother and a child apart from the world. In Akin, Donoghue focuses on a relationship between a 79 year old childless widower and his 11 year old foster child. But here a broader world opens up – present day Nice, France but also the 1940’s Nice of the 79 year old’s deceased mother. And just what was her role in the treatment of Jews during the German occupation? Solving the mysteries of the past leads to taking on a life-affirming responsibility to the next generation.
Absolutely marvelous!
Noah is about to celebrate his eightieth birthday in Nice — the city where he was born, the city he hasn’t seen since he was four years old – when his eleven year old great nephew is foisted on him by a desperate and persistent social worker.
Noah, determined to get to Nice and unravel the mystery of his mother’s photos, refuses to give up his trip and takes the boy along. The ensuing adventures of this unlikely pair take the reader on a wild ride through Nice and back to WWII as they search for the answers Noah needs. A story of adventure, bonding, and finding home.
BLURB
Noah Selvaggio is a retired chemistry professor and widower living on the Upper West Side, but born in the South of France. He is days away from his first visit back to Nice since he was a child, bringing with him a handful of puzzling photos he’s discovered from his mother’s wartime years. But he receives a call from social services: Noah is the closest available relative of an eleven-year-old great-nephew he’s never met, who urgently needs someone to look after him. Out of a feeling of obligation, Noah agrees to take Michael along on his trip.
Much has changed in this famously charming seaside mecca, still haunted by memories of the Nazi occupation. The unlikely duo, suffering from jet lag and culture shock, bicker about everything from steak frites to screen time. But Noah gradually comes to appreciate the boy’s truculent wit, and Michael’s ease with tech and sharp eye help Noah unearth troubling details about their family’s past. Both come to grasp the risks 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 an international bestseller, Akin is a funny, heart-wrenching tale of an old man and a boy, born two generations apart, who unpick their painful story and start to write a new one together.
http://www.darlenejonesauthor.com
A gentle read that sheds light on the distance between generations, class and secrets when a great uncle is tapped to take care of an 11 year old grand-nephew in suspicious circumstance.
This was a really lovely, lyrical tale that flowed beautifully, although the slower pace took me a little while to fall into… I’ve been reviewing a spate of informational non-fiction and thrillers, it seems, and this one was so clearly a work of literary narrative fiction that I had trouble finding my way into the feel of the language and the character-driven story. Once I did (about 10% in), I relaxed into the story and loved every minute of it.
It’s been a while since I read an Emma Donoghue novel. The first one I read, Life Mask, was picked up at a reading by the author in Philadelphia. I was captivated by her style and grace and the language of the book tugged me into the story right away. Ditto with Slammerkin, which was the next title I read. From there, life happened, and it was a while before I stumbled upon her work again – but by then she was in her contemporary phase – and I just couldn’t pull myself into Room, for the subject matter, despite everyone’s raves.
I really loved her historical fiction because she has a marvelous knack for transporting the reader into a specific time and place through her magnificent attention to the small details (think buttons and fabrics and scents) that make a scene jump off the page and into your head. I think the reason Akin worked so well for me is that, while it is contemporary in setting, so much of the book is dedicated to resolving a life-long mystery that Noah didn’t even realize he was living, that it feels historical even though it is not. I loved the way Donoghue drew me into Noah’s hunt for meaning, and the way Michael’s life overlapped with that quest (both physically, in time, and psychologically). It made for a richly detailed read that tugged at my heartstrings, irritated me, plagued me with concerns that I’d never *really* know what happened, and delighted me with small joys and giggles – exactly as it did for the characters throughout their adventures.
Donoghue is a force to be reckoned with, and in Akin I think she has demonstrated this with aplomb. I may even have to set aside my misgivings and give Room a try…
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy.
I really enjoyed this story of an old man and a young boy – a great exploration of human relationships at both ends of life’s journeys, and how salvation may come from unexpected places