A.J. Fikry is the owner of a small bookstore on one of the coastal islands off Massachusetts. Life has not been especially kind to A.J. recently: his wife died in a tragic accident, sales at his store are down and still falling, and his most prized possession (a rare, first-edition book, of course) has been stolen from under his nose - and then he learns his favorite publishing house agent has died and been replaced by a young flibbertygibbet who doesn't even know all the types of books he dislikes and, therefore, will not carry in his store. He is not short on self-pity.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was recommended by one of the librarians at my local library, and especially recommended for readers who enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society or Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I loved both (but read Major Pettigrew before I began this blog), and also haven't exactly been batting 1.000 selecting my own books lately.
So. The story is great. Gabrielle Zevin has created engaging characters and an interesting plot, all woven around the fabric of - what else? - other books. A.J.'s reviews of various books are highly enjoyable and add to the readability of Storied Life. My only complaint is that, in many ways, I was only beginning to truly care about the characters and be interested in what happened to them, personally, as opposed to focusing on the creative and well-written narrative, when the book ended. I realize not every book can - or should - be a tome à la Roses, but I wasn't quite ready to close the book on A.J. Fikry.
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