My Rating: 4 stars
Charming. Sweet. Sad. Funny. Heartwarming. Heartbreaking. These are the first words that came to my mind when I finished reading Gabrielle Zevin's delightful gem of a book The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. I had actually bought the paperback version of this book several years ago (the Target Book Club version, complete with a special letter from the author and a question/answer session in the back), but never got around to reading it due to life getting in the way. It wasn't until this year when I decided to participate in an A to Z author challenge on Goodreads and I needed to find a book to fill the "Z" author slot that I found the perfect opportunity to finally read this book. I'm glad I did, as I ended up really really enjoying this wonderful little story about a curmudgeonly middle-aged bookseller named A.J. Fikry whose life changes dramatically when he decides to open up his heart and let love in its different forms enter it. I found it difficult not to be charmed by the characters in the story and drawn to them in a personal way, as though I were reading about old friends I hadn't seen in awhile. I loved the Fikry family, loved all their quirks and eccentricities, but most of all, loved their unbridled affinity for books and reading. This was truly a "bookish" family in every sense of the word and I wanted nothing more than to be able to spend more time with them and hear their thoughts on books and of course life itself. And herein lies my one little complaint about an otherwise wonderful book: as a reader, the time I got to spend with A.J., Amelia, and Maya was way too short – some of the events went by way too quickly and I felt as though I had missed something (i.e. I was reading about Maya as a toddler and then a few pages later she was a grown teenager – I felt like I missed a huge chunk of her life), that I was somehow shortchanged a bit by not getting to share in parts of their lives that were quite significant….goes to show just how invested I was in the characters and the story.
To be honest, I had actually never heard of this book or its author back when I bought this 3 years ago. What compelled me to pick out this particular book amongst the rows and rows of choices at the store was, quite simply, because I saw on the book jacket that this would be about a bookseller and his book store. Though this book turned out to be much more than just a story about a bookseller and his books (it was also very much about the power of love, redemption, unconventional relationships, the impact of technology, writing and its close link to reading, etc.), the book lover in me couldn't help losing myself in the fictional book world that Zevin had created in the form of Island Books, which was also A.J.'s home. The fact that I was also familiar with most of the titles and authors mentioned in the story made reading this book an extra special experience for me! It was a lot of fun hearing various characters' takes on certain books, especially A.J.'s – I didn't agree with his opinion at times but that was fine, as it didn't take away from the enjoyment of the story at all. The writing was simple, yet profound – easy to understand and easy to connect with, yet not without its fair share of meaningful quips and dialogue that put me in a reflective mood at times.
Overall a delightful book, one that will definitely be going on my favorites shelf! Highly recommended and a definite must-read for all book lovers!
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