Novel set in Nice, Akin by Emma Donoghue
Travel to Nice with Emma Donoghue’s unlikely duo
This novel could have the subtitle of The Odd Couple –
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 eleven-year-old great-nephew. Though he has never met the boy, he gets talked into taking him along to France.
What happens next could only happen under the pen of Emma Donoghue. She has the wit, charm and turn of phrase to make a straight-forward journey full of joy, tears, unexpected twists and turns and ultimately, humanity.
BookTrail Travel to the locations in Akin
BookTrail Travel to the locations in Akin
#Bookreview
Akin is essentially about two unlikely travel companions – an old man and his great nephew who travel to Nice and find out that they are not too dissimilar after all. It’s a story that is both unexpected and unique and both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Touching in many ways too.
Noah is a a retired professor who is about to head back to Nice for his 80th birthday. He was born there you see and he wants to find out about his past. He wants to know more about the photos he has found which were taken by his mother. Michael is the 11 year old great nephew who is in need of a temporary guardian. The two worlds join – or collide – and their story becomes an interwoven one of past, present and future.
BookTrail Travel to the locations in Akin
The novel covers the present day but it also looks at the way in which Noah’s life in the past has turned him into the man he is today. This generational gap covers issues such as the internet and how older people may not see the way it can help them to discover the past. We see how Noah has become the man he is today and it’s a fascinating and complex image which becomes clear.
Michael too is seen through this old/young premise. You have to feel sorry for him needing a temporary guardian and being stuck with this old man at first. The development of the relationship really is something special and lovely to watch. The perfect way to see how past and present, old and young can live in harmony and help us to understand the world and each other.
Two very different people who travel to a neutral setting, albeit one that the old man has links to, is the ideal way for a story about belonging, family and humanity to unfold. What we have in common with each other is so much more than what separates us.
This really is a journey of discovery in every sense of the word. It was a thought-provoking and captivating journey to go on.
BookTrail Travel to the locations in Akin
Postcard details: Access The BookTrail’s Map of Locations and travel guide here
More books set in Nice here
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Akin
Twitter: @EDonoghueWriter Web: /www.emmadonoghue.com/
