The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A. J. Fikry is the cranky and cynical bookstore owner of Island Books, a small independent store on Alice Island somewhere in the northeast. He has good reason to be depressed, his wife died at a fairly young age leaving him with no one to share his love of books. Sales are slumping at the store and he has no idea how to change and no desire to do so. Until a pushy book sales woman comes to call.
One day a two year old girl is left between the stacks in his store. At first he wants nothing to do with her and calls the authorities. Once faced with the prospect of Maya, a very precocious reader, being sent to foster care, he succumbs to her charms and instead starts the adoption process. Over the years their bond grows quickly stronger and Maya is the catalyst for A. J to make amends with Amelia, that pushy salesperson he met four years earlier.
This is one of those books that tells a charming story through books of a man's loss, discovery of new love and purpose in life. A.J.'s delightful book reviews added depth to his heart and soul and love for his daughter. I just thought the rest of the writing was sub par. I felt there were too many gaps in the story that could have been used to develop the secondary characters more fully. Even though I loved A. J. and Maya, I wish the storytelling itself would have been more deeply connected.
A. J. Fikry is the cranky and cynical bookstore owner of Island Books, a small independent store on Alice Island somewhere in the northeast. He has good reason to be depressed, his wife died at a fairly young age leaving him with no one to share his love of books. Sales are slumping at the store and he has no idea how to change and no desire to do so. Until a pushy book sales woman comes to call.
One day a two year old girl is left between the stacks in his store. At first he wants nothing to do with her and calls the authorities. Once faced with the prospect of Maya, a very precocious reader, being sent to foster care, he succumbs to her charms and instead starts the adoption process. Over the years their bond grows quickly stronger and Maya is the catalyst for A. J to make amends with Amelia, that pushy salesperson he met four years earlier.
This is one of those books that tells a charming story through books of a man's loss, discovery of new love and purpose in life. A.J.'s delightful book reviews added depth to his heart and soul and love for his daughter. I just thought the rest of the writing was sub par. I felt there were too many gaps in the story that could have been used to develop the secondary characters more fully. Even though I loved A. J. and Maya, I wish the storytelling itself would have been more deeply connected.
No comments:
Post a Comment