The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

A.J. Fikry runs Island Books, a small, independent bookstore on Alice Island (think Martha’s Vineyard, for example). Fikry’s wife died several years before in a car accident on the island, and A.J. has been in a funk since. He’s disheartened by the fact that sales at his off-beat bookshop are steadily declining. His most prized possession, a rare copy of Edgar Allen Poe’s Tamerlane which was valued at $400,000.00, gets stolen from his apartment above the bookstore. Then one day, when he goes out for a run, he returns to find someone has come into the unlocked store. But instead of stealing something, they’ve left something: a baby. Fikry knows that he’s in no fit state to raise a child, but when no parent is identified, he tries. He names the girl Maya, and she is transformative: folks begin flocking back to the bookstore to try and help his efforts at single parenting.

Author Gabrielle Zevin draws a number of complicated characters in the novel. Fikry’s best friend is the chief of police on the relatively crime-free island. Fikry’s brother-in-law is a former best-selling author with nothing more to offer the literary world, yet continues to ride his waning popularity. And Maya grows from a baby into a somewhat insecure adolescent who loves working in the shop and assisting with bookstore events. The novel leans slightly toward romance, both between women and men as well as between people and books. Two of the major questions in the novel -- what happened to A.J.’s copy of Tamerlane, and who left Maya in the bookstore, are wrapped up neatly by the end of the story. However, not all the story lines end so nicely.

Give this book to anyone who loves wondering around bookstores searching for the next great read. They’ll easily relate to the characters who are inhabit this idealistic  world where a small, quirky independent bookstore can still draw a community together.