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Akin Audiobook
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Publisher Description
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 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
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"We are never too old, Donoghue reminds us, to emerge from our childish dusks. 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 -- Michael's incarcerated mother and Noah's long deceased one -- and the way we preserve the past and prepare for the future."
— New York Times
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“Parenting, Donoghue reminds us, is a common experience of uncommon intensity. Donoghue has returned to this subject again and again to superb effect…[and] remixes this dynamic yet again with a contemporary story about an improvised family of two.”
— New York Times -
“Jason Culp’s near-perfect narration of the new literary drama from the author of Room matches its emotional intensity…Donoghue plucks heartstrings with just the right song, and Culp orchestrates the character studies like a maestro with a baton. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile -
“Donoghue’s realistic portrait of Michael includes enough rudeness and defiance to make the pair’s progress toward détente bumpy and believable.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Donoghue nestles a quiet mystery in the growing relationship between two different family members as Noah sees through Michael’s tough kid act and Michael (and readers) learn what the French in Nazi-occupied Nice had to endure. Readers interested in World War II or family drama will find this a fascinating read.”
— Library Journal -
“The two characters at the heart of Akin grapple with the effects of difficult upbringings, and inner demons and the desire to understand them drive the present-day narrative.”
— BookPage -
One of Audiofile's Best Audiobooks of the Year
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Soul stirring.
— O Magazine -
A subtle, entertaining portrait of the relationship--and friction--between age and youth.
— The Economist -
Continuously charming.
— Washington Post Book World
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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A Literary Hub Pick of Anticipated Books of 2019
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A Millions.com Pick of Most Anticipated Books of 2019
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A Town & Country Magazine Pick of Must-Read Books for Fall
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An O Magazine Pick of Must-Read Books for Fall
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A BookPage Book of the Day
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About Emma Donoghue
Emma Donoghue, born in Dublin, is a playwright, literary historian, novelist, and screenwriter. Her works of contemporary and historical fiction include the New York Times bestsellers Room and Frog Music. Her books have also been finalists for the Man Booker Prize, Commonwealth Prize, the Orange Prize, and the Women’s Prize for Fiction. She also writes story collections, literary history, and plays for stage and radio. Find out more at EmmaDonoghue.com.
About Jason Culp
Jason Culp, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has been acting since the age of ten, and his credits include a variety of television, theater, and film roles. He is best known for his role as Julian Jerome on General Hospital. In addition to audiobooks and voice-over work in national commercials, he has also narrated documentaries for National Geographic and the History Channel.