The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

I don't know where to begin. I knew a few pages in that I would love this book. It is a love letter to books, reading and readers, and I am obviously a reader. So I suppose it was inevitable that I would love it.

A.J Fikry is the owner of a small, struggling bookstore on Alice Island. His wife has recently died; he has lost a very valuable collection of poetry and seems to be determined to drink himself into an early grave. Then one day a mysterious package arrives at his door, and he can't ignore it. His life is about to change.

The story is quite simple. It has love and loss; romance and humour; even a little mystery thrown into the mix, but at its heart, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is a novel about books. Books frame every action and every character in the novel. It is a bibliophile's delight. Gabrielle Zevin makes so many literary references in this book, and the great thing is they are not obscure. At one point she even talks about a YA vampire series (which sounds very much like Twilight). It was fun recognising the names of books and going “Hey! I've read that!”

I am sure there will be a few book snobs ranting about the substance of this book – the characters are one-dimensional – blah blah blah. When you are having as much fun as I did reading this – who really cares?

The characters are quirky and loveable, the setting is quaint and the plot is hopeful, and an innate love of books radiates through every page. It is simply wonderful.