Akin by Emma O’Donoghue

This is the same writer who produced Room, which was a riveting book. On the strength of that I bought this one, only to be marginally disappointed. Room was such a powerful exploration of a dreadful situation, but this was less powerful, more sentimental and of course totally predictable. Chick lit really, OK for travelling when you really don’t want to concentrate and the guy might be coming round with drinks at any moment. So this light and entertaining read is about a crusty old bloke who suddenly finds himself lumbered with a disturbed child. They take off for France and spend their time there investigating the old bloke’s family history, uncovering secrets and changing their attitudes to one another as things warm up. That’s really all to be said about it. Pleasant but not important.