When it comes to
literary fiction, I have four preferences: novels about books, novels set in
bookstores, novels about English Professors, and novels from Algonquin Books of
Chapel Hill. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin encompasses all
these elements.
According to her
website, “Gabrielle Zevin’s writing career began at 14 years of age when
an angry letter to her local newspaper about a Guns ‘n’ Roses concert resulted
in a job as a music critic. She has
published several novels for adults and young people, and she has written about
female soldiers in Iraq, mafia princesses in a retro-future New York City,
teenage girls in the afterlife, talking dogs, amnesiacs, and the difficulties
of loving one person over many years.
Her first novel, Elsewhere, has been translated into over 20
languages. She is also the screenwriter of the cult hit Conversations with
Other Women. Fikry is her eighth novel, published in April of 2014.
A.J. Fikry suffers
from the devastation of losing his wife in a tragic car accident, and seems to
be slowly spiraling into alcoholism. He
half-heartedly runs “Island Books,” where he emphasizes literary fiction, and
refuses to carry books he doesn’t like – even if they are popular best
sellers. One day, Amelia Loman, the book
rep from Knightley Press makes the first call of her new job to Island
Books. A.J. has ignored the emails,
because he did not recognize the name, so Amelia’s visit comes as a
surprise. He treats her rudely, and she
leaves discouraged, but not before leaving A.J. with a galley of an old novel,
which she loves. Shortly after her
visit, three things happen which change the course of A.J.’s life: he regrets
his rudeness to Amelia, his prized possession a first edition of the extremely
rare book of poems by Edgar Allen Poe, Tamerlane
is stolen, and someone abandons a
toddler in the store. A.J. begins
bonding with the child, and when the body of a young woman washes up on the
shore a few days later, the police discover the baby, now named Maya, is her
child. A.J. adopts the child, and his
interest in life and the bookstore are reinvigorated.
One of the things I
love about this book is the easy conversational manner of the prose. I felt as if I had begun an extended
conversation about novels and writing.
A.J.’s personal preference in reading involves short stories, and each
chapter begins with a brief note about a story he enjoys. Why he does this becomes clear in the end.
 |
| Gabrielle Zevin and friend |
Maya quickly
develops a love of reading. Zevin
writes, “The first way Maya approaches a book is to smell it. She strips the book of its jacket, then holds
it up to her face and wraps the boards around her ears. Books typically smell like Daddy’s soap,
grass, the sea, the kitchen table, and cheese” (82). I have been a book smeller for a long, long
time.
Maya
becomes a rebellious teen, but she loves her dad, and books, and writing. Late in the novel, Maya and A.J. have a
conversation. He says, “‘Maya, there is
only one word that matters […] We are what we love. […] We aren’t the things we
collect, acquire, read. We are, for as
long as we are here, only love. The
things we loved. The people we loved”
(251).
Wise words, from a
wise man. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, is a delightful
read, thoroughly enjoyable, and a perfect book for a long Saturday
afternoon. 5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment