Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin FIC Zev

A wonderful quirky book.  A. J. fell in love with Nic when they were in grad school.  Instead of finishing their degrees they moved to Nic's hometown of Alice Island - because it didn't have a bookstore and they thought it should!  Life was sweet and they were expecting their first baby until the car accident.  Now A. J. seems intent on drinking himself to death and his bookstore is in serious trouble.  When Amelia, a book rep for a book publisher, arrives at the Island for her first visit she is not impressed.  A.J. liked Amelia's predecessor, Harvey, who really understood what A.J. was willing to put in his store.  This woman is a rookie.  He gets rid of her as quickly as possible and goes back to his miserable existence. On one particularly drunk night he takes out a rare edition of an Edgar Allan Poe - he can sell it and retire.  Instead he passes out and when he wakes up the book is gone.  After that he decided he might as well leave the doors unlocked...... which is why someone was able to come in one night and leave a surprise for him that will turn his world upside-down.  And of course we haven't seen the last of Amelia!

It's funny and sad but most of all it is entertaining.  There is the greatest quote at the end of the book:
We read to know we're not alone.  We read because we are alone.  We read and we are not alone. 

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