The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry

Zevin must have written this book with readers in mind. Big readers. People that tromp to bookstores like they are on a pilgrimage. Folks that zing with the mention of anything book-ish.


This book is for them. It is for me. It is probably for you.


Here's a little of the plot: A curmudgeonish widowed bookstore owner finds a baby in his shop and the baby changes his life.


It's a gentle story, a happy story, a perfect summer read for the book-ish.

Feel-good without being saccharine, filled with quirky but relatable characters and of course the whole, brief thing is a love letter to books and reading. My only quibble was that the character of Maya was unbelievably precocious and mature, but the other characters more than made up for that weakness. Worth the accolades it is receiving.

What can I say? I LOVED IT. LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT. It is sweet, it has books, and it is quirky, and just lovely.

Wonderful.

I don't know where to begin. I knew a few pages in that I would love this book. It is a love letter to books, reading and readers, and I am obviously a reader. So I suppose it was inevitable that I would love it.

A.J Fikry is the owner of a small, struggling bookstore on Alice Island. His wife has recently died; he has lost a very valuable collection of poetry and seems to be determined to drink himself into an early grave. Then one day a mysterious package arrives at his door, and he can't ignore it. His life is about to change.

The story is quite simple. It has love and loss; romance and humour; even a little mystery thrown into the mix, but at its heart, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is a novel about books. Books frame every action and every character in the novel. It is a bibliophile's delight. Gabrielle Zevin makes so many literary references in this book, and the great thing is they are not obscure. At one point she even talks about a YA vampire series (which sounds very much like Twilight). It was fun recognising the names of books and going “Hey! I've read that!”

I am sure there will be a few book snobs ranting about the substance of this book – the characters are one-dimensional – blah blah blah. When you are having as much fun as I did reading this – who really cares?

The characters are quirky and loveable, the setting is quaint and the plot is hopeful, and an innate love of books radiates through every page. It is simply wonderful.