Books & Java

The Storied Life of A.J. Fickry

by Gabrielle Zevin

 

Synopsis:

 

On the faded Island Books sign hanging over the porch of the Victorian cottage is the motto "No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World." A. J. Fikry, the irascible owner, is about to discover just what that truly means.

A. J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island-from Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who's always felt kindly toward Fikry; from Ismay, his sister-in-law who is hell-bent on saving him from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who keeps on taking the ferry over to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.'s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly.

And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It's a small package, but large in weight. It's that unexpected arrival that gives A. J. Fikry the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn't take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J.; or for that determined sales rep, Amelia, to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light; or for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.'s world; or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn't see coming. As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.

My Review: 

Who knew that such a little book about such a common man, with a rather ordinary life would pack such a punch?!?! I loved this book. And, not only because it is about a bookstore owner whose love of books is only surpassed by that of his adoptive daughter and quirky wife. He defines his experiences in life as though it were a book. There is a beginning, a middle, an end. There is tragedy, there is happenstance, there is irony, there is regret, and all of those other things I love - kindness, humanity, opportunity and above all love. Which at the very end (no worries, no spoilers here) it is what it is all about. Much like a book, life begins, has a middle and an end and in between the front and back cover a lot of those things that make up our life happen. But, once a book is read (in my case, thoroughly enjoyed) you move on to the next and smile every time you think of the high points that made you love that book to begin with.

For myself, I never remember the details of what I read in a book, but I ALWAYS remember how the book made me feel. I had to get used to the way the book is written. At first, to me it seemed choppy and lacking transitions from sentence to sentence. It seemed like a lot of statements just strung together. But as I got into the book, I realized that the simplicity in the writing and the fast movement of the book is essential. As I see it, and this is only my interpretation, but I felt that, like in life, the details can be superfluous. 

Great book. I realize that not everyone is going to share my opinion of this book but I LOVE READING and one of the things that makes reading so special to me is expressed in this book:

"The words you can't find, you borrow. We read to know we're not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone. My life is in these books, he wants to tell her. Read these and know my heart. We are not quite novels. We are not quite short stories. In the end, we are collected works. He has read enough to know there are no collections where each story is perfect. Some hits, Some misses. If you're lucky, a standout. And in the end, people only really remember the standouts anyway, and they don't remember those for very long." (Zevin, p. 249)

Life is short indeed and I want to spend it accumulating the experiences and moments that write my short stories. My short stories that one day will become a part of my collected works.