Bibliophile's Desk

Book Review – The Storied life of A.J. Fikry

Author – Gabrielle Zevin

Genre – Literary Fiction

Pages – 260

“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.”

 I am a book lover. Like literally – I LOVE books. Not the content (that depends) , the paper and print of it, and everything a book signifies.

And when I found a book about book people, how could I not stay awake all night and finish reading it?

I went breezing through the first half of the book in one day, but then work-life balance went for a toss. So last night I sat awake till 3am and finished it. 

To give you a brief introduction, this book is about the life of AJ Fikry, a small island town bookstore owner who has very particular taste in books.

He’s in late 30s when the book begins, and is kinda set in his ways. He has his own circle of close friends and his life is very much limited to the Alice Island (near Rhode island, US).

“A.J. nods out of politeness, but he doesn’t believe in random acts. He is a reader, and what he believes in is narrative construction. If a gun appears in act one, that gun had better go off by act three.”

Something happens in the beginning of the book itself – something is taken from him, and life gives him something else in its place.

How his life changes after that, is what the book is about. Plainly put.

But if you read between lines, and ponder a bit, you realize the book is so much about what’s changing in the world. Technology and gadgets bring us closer, yet push us apart. It talks about the literary world, the power of word affects a person, no matter the age.

“You tell a kid he doesn't like to read, and he'll believe you”

The author has done a tremendous job of carving out the characters and bringing them to life. They’re so real, and there are times when you might feel a tear trickle down or you laugh out loud with their snappy dialogues. When you’re reading page 244, and you realize you laughed out loud, remember I told you so!

Each chapter begins with title of a short story, and AJs review of it. It’s like a peek into how this story is similar to what happens in AJ’s life.

I turned the last page of the story and was almost sad because I knew I was going to miss A.J. and his storied life so much!

“My life is in these books. Read these and know my heart. We are not quire novels. We are not quite short stories. In the end, we are collected works.”

There’re so many things I want to show you from the book, but why spoil the fun! Pick this book up, and you’ll be glad your read it.