The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Although this one took me awhile to get through, it had more to do with my schedule than with any deficiencies in the book. I did find that I wasn’t as drawn in as I would have liked, but that might have been because I took so long between readings.
I had no idea what to expect from this book. I only picked it up because I like bookstores and have thought about owning one.
The title character, AJ Fikry, runs said bookstore and is dealing with the death of his wife at the onset of the book.
This is a book about new beginnings and about how books can draw people together.
There are some interesting insights into the book selling world, which I hope are true 🙂
There are inside jokes for book nerds in the form of AJs commentary on several literary works (presented on a page at the start of each chapter). He is a book snob, but it was funny to read some of his thoughts on the “classics” of literature.