Is it me or recently are there lot of books being written about booksellers, book lovers, and authors; An Unnecessary Woman, The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair and The Quick, to name a few? I’m not complaining because I love them all.
We can now add another one to the book pile of books about books. The newest addition to these is called, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. It revolves around bookseller A.J. Fikry who reminds you of the guy who likes to throw people out of his store because he just doesn’t like the look of you or you ask the wrong question. This may have worked years a go but in an age where booksellers are disappearing booksellers should be doing all they can to retain their customers. A.J. says wants no part of that and he also has no interest in the novels that are big bestsellers about vampires, kids books or books that are just too precious.
A.J. bought this bookstore on a remote New England Island called Alice Island with his wife who later passes away in a tragic accident. The townspeople put up with his cranky ways and do what they can to support him. His sister in-law Amelia, a police officer and avid reader Lambiase are just some of the people who keep the story moving by helping him when he ends up hearing a voice in one of bookstore aisles that turns out to be a two year old child named Maya. Who would leave a child in the middle of the bookstore? The mystery is revealed towards the end of the book and it shows that small remote islands can have really big secrets.
Ms. Zevin has written YA books as well as other novels and she is not afraid to take digs at her own craft as well as bookstores and E-readers. In fact, her sense of humor can be quite wicked. I literally finished the book in one sitting on a delayed flight from NYC-LA (Thank you broken gate in LA).
The story ends with the idea that books make us the person we are, or you are what you read. Adding The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry to mine may not be a great clue to who I am in life but it will certainly tell you that I love books about books and I never want to see the physical book go away. Maybe there’s a book in that.
