Akin begins with New Yorker Noah packing for his trip to Nice for his eightieth birthday. He was born there but hasn't been back since he was four. Having recently lost his wife and sister he is adrift. Going through the last of his sister's belongings, he finds an envelope of photos with no clue as to their meaning, no names or notes, just sets of initials on the back of two of them. He then receives a phone call that is to change his life. Children's services want to meet him to discuss his great-nephew Michael who has been through a series of losses. His father is dead, his mother in prison, and his grandmother who was caring for him, has also passed away. Noah is his last hope if he is to avoid being put into care. With his trip to Nice pending Noah is willing to become his caretaker for a couple of weeks upon his return. But this plan is not to be as it's decided that it would be good for Michael to accompany him.

Michael and Noah then embark on a trip that is to change them both. Noah, an educator all his life, gives Michael daily lessons in history, chemistry and art history as they explore the city of Noah's birth. Michael is 11 and unsurprisingly, spiky and challenging. But he's also curious and enquiring, and challenges Noah about some of his own assumptions. As the story of the photographs unfolds, Michael helps him discover more about them with the use of technology and Noah discovers that the photographs document a secret history of his mother's involvement with the Marcel Network. This was an organisation that helped hide Jewish children from the Nazi's and she was ultimately tortured for her part in forging documents for them.

The relationship between Michael and Noah was so brilliantly written, Noah is kind and unassuming and allows Michael to be himself. Noah realises that at eighty years of age, his input into Michael's life may not be long, and he says himself as 'just watering one sapling, attempting to shield it from harsh winds'. And then, in perhaps the most poignant moment of the book he realises that 'it was really the other way around. This boy was saving Noah'.

A truly beautiful story that will touch the hearts of any reader who picks this book up.

Firstly I must apologise for not getting my review in before publication date. I moved home and then got knocked out by a nasty virus. I will leave this review on Amazon UK immediately.

I loved this book. It is not only beautifully written, but the characters feel like people you know and care about. I’m actually bereft now I’ve finished it and hope for a sequel maybe? This is a book about family, young v old and supposition v reality. The main theme is love. This story unfolds slowly, drawing the reader further in with every page. I loved the descriptions of Nice, so alluring yet showing the famous French disdain. I will be recommending this book to everyone. It’s gorgeous.

What I liked about this book - a story of an 80 year old protagonist and his 11 year old charge, a boy whose mother is in jail and his father who died. Noah is the older man who has just retired from his life in academia when he agrees to take care of Michael, with them going to Nice in France for a trip Noah had already planned. I enjoyed the descriptions of Nice and the memories it brought up for Noah. It was good to see a friendship between the generations - warts and all. I really liked how Noah’s now-deceased wife would speak to him through his thoughts. That was a lovely addition.

What I liked less - the plot centers around Noah and Michael trying to figure out Noah’s mother’s role in the Second World War, based on a set of photographs Noah receives. I felt this part of the story hung on so little; it felt like Noah was pulling the clues out of the thin air at times. And Michael seemed far smarter than an average 11 year old at times.

One I’m glad I read but not one I overly enthuse about.

Really enjoyed this book. It was an unusual tale of elder and child on a journey through South of France. The characters were solid, authentic and loveable. The connection between Noah and Michael was played out brilliantly. Emma Donoghue seems to have this gift of portraying adult and child in a beautiful way. Just like her previous book, Room, the relationship with mother and child was so authentic.

I would definitely recommend this book and I learnt some French history too along the way too!

Thank you Net Galley

A 79 year old retired professor is forced to take a streetwise 11 year old distant and unknown relation into his care and hilarity ensues! Well, not quite.
Although the setup is relatively unusual, the opening chapters of this book really do feel like a standard ‘odd couple’, generation gap, comedy of errors. The two protagonists forced together, neither understanding the other, find no common ground and wish the period of their companionship to be ended. Initially this is well paced but too large a section of the book is devoted to this part of the story and unfortunately towards the middle of the book I was rapidly growing tired of the relationship.

However, an unavoidable change in location and the resulting exploration of family history makes for a much needed change of pace. Where the book really takes off is not long after the plane touches down in the south of France. It is here that the importance of family – and indeed what defines family – starts to be explored and a bond between the old man and the young boy begins to be understood.

There are some nice touches throughout the book which make for a very believable (if also quite exasperating) character of the young boy – his constant use of his phone, deliberately obtuse responses to his guardian and his attempt to behave in what he considers to an adult manner whilst constantly wearing a replica Roman soldier’s helmet – this is a very real portrayal and is all too believable! There are also some nice touches relating to the other main character – a 79 year old considering the ‘late mid-life’ crisis of turning 80, his constant distilling of everything to its scientific explanation, and the imagined voice of his late wife offering some practical advice on the developing situation.

Although not perfect for me, this is a very enjoyable exploration of real events in history and also of how memory and perception can affect our view of history and indeed can play tricks on us.
As the title suggests ‘Akin’ is about the search for meaning in our past through our ancestors, and meaning in our current time through family, both well-known and those only known-of, but it is also about how little we change in our need for love and connections, no matter what our circumstances or where we come from.

Emma Donoghue’s Akin sounded initially unpromising but was unexpectedly delightful. It focuses on retired chemist Noah Selvaggio, who is returning to the French Riviera, where he spent his early childhood, on the eve of his eightieth birthday. Noah lost his wife some years back, and is happy to admit that, of the two of them, she was the one whose work really contributed to the sum of human knowledge, as she was a leading cancer researcher. The couple were contentedly childless, and so Noah is now winding down his own life in a predictable fashion, unsure what it has all meant but happy in the recognition of the privilege it contained. This is all upended when Noah becomes the temporary guardian of Michael, his eleven-year-old great-nephew ('“Mr Selvaggio is your great-uncle”… “What’s so great about him?” Michael wanted to know.') Told that if he does not assume responsibility for Michael he will have to be put in foster care, Noah reluctantly takes the boy with him to France.

Akin isn’t a plotty book; how much you like it will probably be dependent on how much you enjoy this kind of dialogue, which makes up the bulk of the novel:

“During the Occupation – when the German army took over from the Italians – you had to tape black over every window so American bombers wouldn’t spot any lights. And there was a curfew, which meant everybody had to stay indoors after dark.” [Noah said].

“I know what a freaking curfew is.” [Michael said]

“Of course you do.” Home by four thirty every day.

… “Mom and Grandma were all about the curfew,” Michael said.

“Yeah?”

“You come straight home from school now” – in a gravelly old-lady voice – “and stay inside, live to be a man. Hanging around on the corner, you’re going to end up getting yourself shot like Cody.”

The well-observed repartee between Noah and Michael has several reoccurring themes; Noah shocked by the reality of Michael’s turbulent childhood, and unsure where to draw boundaries with his charge; Noah trying to pass on his knowledge of the world to Michael, while constantly being surprised by what the boy does or doesn’t know, what happens to interest him, and what to protect him from. “You know a lot of stuff, but most of it’s sick,” Michael tells him. “Fair comment,” Noah replies.

The warmth which which Donoghue writes about both her characters offsets the hint of cliché in Michael’s characterisation (just because a portrayal is realistic doesn’t mean it can’t also be cliched). These long conversations also have a thematic purpose; Akin explores what we can pass on to the next generation, and what it’s worth. In this context, when Noah starts researching his family’s past during the Nazi occupation of France, this familiar plot feels fresher, especially as it’s juxtaposed with another miscarriage of justice that has been visited on Michael’s parents. Once again, Donoghue pulls something totally different out of the bag; I’ve read her on countercultural contemporary lesbian relationships (Stir-Fry, Hood) a pulpy nineteenth-century courtroom drama (The Sealed Letter) and the mysterious case of an Irish girl said to have survived without food for months in 1859 (The Wonder), as well as her most famous novel, Room, which is totally distinctive again. All were worthwhile, and although Akin can be a little slow at times, I’d rank it as among her best.

I had mixed feelings about this novel at first as I found it quite slow to begin with and it didn't pique my interest. BUT it was well worth persevering. The relationship between Noah and Michael was so well explored - their age difference, their backgrounds and their outlooks were so different and they each had to make allowances for the other. Add to that the history of each and Noah's search for knowledge about his mother in Nice during World War II.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Emma Donoghue/Pan Macmillan for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a lovely heartwarming book! I really enjoyed reading this tale of young Michael and the soon to be Octogenarian Noah - the ups and down of their newly formed relationship was tenderly described and felt very genuine. Very humorous in places, quite tragic in others as they unravelled the mystery of Noah’s mothers involvement during the war. At times I could of done with this book moving at a faster pace but overall I really enjoyed it and will be recommending to friends and to my book club readers .

When Noah Salvaggio finds a clutch of wartime photographs, they conjure up numerous questions. His perception of his mother is altered, all his memories cast in a strange and startling new light. How well did he really know her? And what secrets have lain dormant in the family for so many years? His wife, sister and parents are long deceased and with no children or grandchildren to care for, Noah leads a quiet, lonely life, reminiscing about his work as a professor and the glorious years he spent with wife, Joan.

In the lead up to his eightieth birthday, Noah receives a call from Children’s Services regarding his great-nephew, Michael. With his mother in prison, his father dead from an overdose and no family able to care for him, Noah is the obvious next of kin. But taking on an eleven-year old boy fills Noah with doubt. How will he care for him, keep him safe? He’s never even met his great-nephew. Will they be compatible, able to exist without too much friction or will they be locked in a constant battle, unable to see eye to eye?

Reluctant to cancel his plans to attend Carnival in Nice, Noah books a ticket for Michael and takes him along. The boy is rude, sarcastic and foul-mouthed but Noah is drawn to him, to his fierceness, his quick intelligence and his adeptness at survival, at retaining that grit and courage even after everything he has endured. Although from very different worlds, over the course of their stay in Nice, boy and man begin to glimpse the similarities, the things that bind them, bond them, that make them family, in blood and in spirit too. They are akin in more ways than one.

I devoured this book over two days and treasured every moment of it. The author encapsulates the quirks and eccentricities of her characters with boundless humour and warmth. Her power with words is insurmountable, it’s inventive, fresh, full of humanity and emotional depth and utterly beautiful. A breathe of fresh air on every page. Noah and Michael became much more than characters in a book, ink on paper, they meant so much to me. I didn’t want to leave them behind come the end.

The author’s descriptions of wartime France and the Marcel Network, a group of brave and courageous men and women who hid and protected Jewish children from the Nazis’s were extremely emotional for me. It’s with unflinching honesty and heart-breaking gravity, she describes those barbaric times. Running alongside this, is the portrait she paints of present day France, how echoes of those times still fill the streets, of the culture and food and the revelry and colours of Carnival. Akin is about family, loyalty, sacrifice and love.

I adored this book. Grab a copy as soon as you can and you’ll fall in love with Michael and Noah just like I did. Incredible!

Really enjoyed this read about 2 different generations thrown together when neither wants the other and the relationship they have intertwined with historical background and an undercurrent of passing judgement without all the facts and how this brings together 2 very individual and alone characters. I felt I was really able to connect with the characters and their relationships. The ending left things open for you to imagine what might be which I liked

A very odd travelling companion indeed, from both perspectives. However, the oddly matched Noah and Michael make it work for them, from an increasing tolerance from Noah toward the younger generations language and attitude to the gentle care Michael takes of Noah as more of his families background reveals itself to them and he becomes more emotionally frail with each photograph uncovered.
From being thrown together by fate to travelling to France together the story winds its way through both their lives and through history in a compelling way.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was easy to read but dealt with some hard subjects. Partway through I wondered if it was more about the ideas than the characters, but by the end I was surprised at how moved I was. There's a lot to mull over and a depth that could be missed with a surface reading. I was given a complimentary copy on #netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is an easy feel-good read perfect for a holiday read noting too taxing. The retired university profession Noah is approached by social services as the only adult relation and possible carer of Michel his 11 year old great-nephew. Michael’s mum is in prison and his father has passed so Noah agrees to take on tempory guardianship but he doesn’t want to change his long awaiting trip to Nice so he takes Noah with him.

This doesn't compare to Room, it is almost a completely different style of writing but the characters still take a long time to come out of their shell! Old widower Noah is thrown together with a youngster he cannot relate to in any way. So a holiday away together was always going to start stilted, but could any common ground be found?

It is a warm and cosy book, much more light than dark, it will stay with you after. Just not for as long as Room still does!

I only managed to read half of this. I just got bored. I was really disappointed, as I've read Room and was very impressed. I wasn't getting emotionally attached to either Noah or to Michael. The lines given to Michael were not realistic at all, his language was far too sophisticated for an 11 year old (how many boys that age know what 'ironic' means?). Noah just spent his whole time with Michael just spouting facts, which of course that also meant that was what we were getting as a reader. There was too much time lost in this way, when I wanted to find out more about how Michael felt. I'm sure I would've found that out eventually in the book, but I'm afraid life's too short and my 'to read' pile is too big!! Sorry for the negativity.

This story has held me captive from first to last page. The protagonist Noah, a widower heading for his eightieth birthday looks back on his life of half forgotten memories attempting to separate fact from fiction; childhood abandonment with a sketchy knowledge of a famous ancestor. Sudden and totally unexpected circumstances catapult him into the role of guardian to a young very distant relative, Michael, on the eve of his long planned trip to Europe. Noah realises this is a now or never chance to rediscover the truth of his past before at the age of four he was shipped to safety during the war. Left with no other option, the old man is forced to take his great nephew on a journey during which each will learn as much about themselves as each other. The gap in age covers every aspect of intrinsic upbringing in addition to the chasm of wealth, poverty, education and backgrounds. And so we the reader embarks on this journey of discovery with these very different characters learning about each of their past lives, the struggles and hardships, the laughter, loves and tears. The journey takes us to Nice, France where this fictional story intermingles with the true story of Odette Rosenstock and Moussa Abada who during world war 2, took dangerous risks to save 527 children from concentration camps and almost certain death. We must slowly turn each page to discover how this is linked to Noah, his family and their history. Therefore with poignancy and humour the past and present are a back story to a love story between a childless old man and a young child in desperate need of a safe haven and unexpectedly a surrogate father/grandfather. Bereft at ending this book, with so many unanswered questions regarding events in France during the war highlighted in the book. , The bravery of ordinary individuals thrust into extraordinary situations, and the resilience of the young and old whether real or fictional. Finally the careful and methodical research of Nice in all its splendour and history.

I immediately found myself bonding with dear old Noah, who still regularly spoke to his dead wife and heard her answers in his head, as he is confronted with this spiky eleven-year-old reeling from the loss of the grandmother who was looking after him, while his mother is in jail. I understood and sympathised with Noah’s reluctance to get involved – he’d broken his heart over the boy’s father, the beautiful nephew Victor, who had taken gifts from his doting aunt and uncle and sold them for drugs. Why would he want to get tangled up in this mess? And the answer comes back that at seventy-nine years old, he is the only relative willing to take the boy on and keep him out of the state childcare system – and all that entails.

So he does… There isn’t so much a generation gap as a yawning chasm between the two of them. Add in the mix of whisking the boy off to Nice, on a long-planned holiday to explore the city of Noah’s birth and further investigate the life of his mother and famous photographer grandfather – and the result is a chaotic negotiation of rules in amongst unfamiliar surroundings and a different time-zone. Noah constantly is brought up short at Michael’s laconic, sharp-edged responses to places he has been raised to revere.

What I loved about Noah, is that it would have been all too easy for him to have become aggravated and hostile to Michael’s constant button-pressing and pushing for boundaries. But he tries to take into account the boy’s trauma as he copes with his foul-mouthed responses and wall of insolence as the child retreats into games and screens. Every so often he snaps and there are fireworks, which I felt were very convincing. But Donoghue manages to portray the shifting dynamic within their relationship as Noah tries to accommodate Michael’s needs, while the boy gets used to having to cope with yet another adult in his life, who is only a temporary haven anyway.

Unspooling in the middle of this relationship, are Noah’s discoveries about his mother. I’ll be honest, there seemed to be an awful lot of joining the dots with some very flimsy evidence regarding this small handful of photographs his mother had taken in Nice during the war years. But I’ll give her a pass on this one, as I think Donoghue did manage to make it work – just about. All in all, this was a delightful, poignant read, interlaced with some very funny moments. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading family dramas in quirky settings. The ebook arc copy of Akin was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
10/10

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a slow, elegant pace that keeps you wanting more throughout.

I loved Noah and Michael was a typical teenager! Their relationship was a real strength of the book.

The actual plot is good, with plenty to occupy your mind as you let the story wash over you. I loved ‘Room’ and now I love ‘Akin’ too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Noah is a retired Chemistry professor, with a trip planned to Nice to uncover the mystery of his mother's stay there during the war. His plans are derailed when he has to take guardianship of an eleven year old great nephew he has never met before.

In Emma Donaghue’s Akin, retired chemistry professor Noah Selvaggio unexpectedly takes temporary guardianship of his great-nephew, 11 year old Michael, despite never having met him before. Noah has no choice but to take Michael along with him on a long-planned trip to revisit Nice, France, the city where he was born, and from which he emigrated to the US as a young child during World War II. The character development was the real strength of the novel for me. As the mother of a teenage son, I found Michael instantly (and frustratingly!) recognizable – he’s obsessed with his cell phone, he refuses to engage with anything new he encounters in France, and he constantly tries to push Noah’s buttons with bad language and low-level disruptive behaviour, but he shows occasional flashes of vulnerability or startling insight that keep him from being completely unlikeable. I thought the way in which Noah and Michael’s relationship haltingly develops over the course of the week was effectively portrayed. I also particularly loved the way Donoghue shows the strength the relationship between Noah and his late wife, a brilliant scientist whose career eclipsed his own – she’s the voice of reason still running through his mind many years after her death. Less successful in my opinion was the rather thin mystery driving the plot – before he travels to France, Noah discovers a few photos he believes his mother might have taken during the war. He decides based on very little evidence that these photos suggest she may have been collaborating with the Nazis, and so Noah and Michael spend their week in Nice following the flimsiest of clues about what his mother might have been doing during the war. I would recommend this novel for readers who enjoy well-written, character-driven novels about intergenerational relationships.