Robert is the ten-year-old son of a Zimbabwean novelist mother and an Italian refugee advocate father. He is living with them in Geneva, together with his fifteen-year-old brother, when his aunt in Zimbabwe disappears after criticising the government.
This novel aspires to be a kind of international To Kill A Mockingbird, complete with a Boo Radley-type mystery man in Robert’s grouchy elderly neighbour with a secret past. It’s a heart-warming page-turner, sure. To be honest, my favourite aspect of Mockingbird is the way Harper Lee manages to have Jem, through Scout’s eyes, come to understand the undercurrents of the action while denying that knowledge to a first-person narrator – it’s quite a technical achievement. Sabatini attempts that here, and to some extent pulls it off, but just doesn’t have the same level of mastery.
I don’t want to suggest this isn’t a good book, because I think it is. I don’t think it’s as good as some of the online reviews seem to, but agree to disagree etc. Really my main beef is that the end comes far too soon. There are a few elements that seem to be building up to much more than is ultimately delivered, with the result that the pacing feels off and the last few pages are much less satisfying than they should be. It’s a pity. This seems like an author who hasn’t quite found her stride but is one to watch.