Almost Nothing Happened by Meg Rosoff
Book of the Week: 25 August 2024
Bloomsbury, 2024
Cover illustration by Amber Day
If this is an example of ‘nothing happening’ I’d hate to see an incidence of something more eventful. Everything happens.
Callum has experienced a dull and embarassing exchange trip to France. His French is rudimentary, he fell in unrequited love with his host’s daughter and spent most of his time taking the family dog for a walk. By the time he reaches Paris to catch the Eurostar home, he is glad it’s all over. Then, in a fit of spontaneity, just as his train is about to leave, he gathers up his rucksack, turns around and walks back into the city to see what life has to offer. He has very little money and no clear idea of what to do, but he knows one other person in Paris: his cousin Harrison who has been studying music there for several years. He sets off through the boiling hot streets (there’s an August heatwave) and pleads with Harrison, whom he hardly knows, to let him stay a couple of nights in his cramped flat. Harrison is hardly welcoming, but reluctantly agrees and invites him to attend his concert that evening where he is playing his oboe in the orchestra. During the concert’s interval he gets talking to Arnaud and Lilou who are sitting next to him. They are step-brother and sister and speak to him in English, which is a relief after all the struggles he has had with the language. Matters take an alarming turn when Harrison discovers that his oboe has been stolen at the end of the evening and Arnaud is the prime suspect. Callum then gets swept up in a whirlwind of events involving various stolen items and a motorbike chase through Paris, but more as terrified observer and unwilling sidekick.
This is such a fun romp and, at 231 pages, can be read in a single sitting. Seventeen year old Callum is wonderfully observant and dryly funny and if you would like to read an excerpt here is a link.
