As the story opens, A.J. Fikry is a widower. His wife died 21 months earlier and left him to run their book store on Alice Island, Massachusetts. The book store is not doing well. And then his prized possession, a very valuable copy of Tamerlane, is stolen. Shortly after that, a small child, two-year-old Maya, is left in A.J.'s store, and that event changes his life forever.
Now this sounds like it could be a very smaltzy novel (and maybe for some readers it is) but because it is set in a book store and because the author is Gabrielle Zevin, I decided to give it a chance. I had not even read a book by Zevin at that time, so I don't know why that influenced my decision.
I loved this book. It is a book about books; the protagonist is the owner and manager of a book shop. There are many mentions of books of all types. The characters also talk about the types of books they like and why.
A.J. is very prejudiced in his likes and dislikes at the beginning of the book, and in some cases will not purchase books for his book store unless he likes them.
He is exceptionally rude to the new sales representative from Knightley Press, Amelia Loman. He gives her a long list of types of books he does not like. She tells him...
"Do you want my opinion?"
"Not particularly," he says. "What are you, twenty-five?"
"Mr. Fikry, this is a lovely store, but if you continue in this this this"—as a child, she stuttered and it occasionally returns when she is upset; she clears her throat—"this backward way of thinking, there won't be an Island Books before too long."
Each chapter begins with a review or description of a short story, sort of like diary entries, with notes. I loved that element of the book. The first chapter begins with a mini-review of "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl. There were 13 chapters, thus 13 stories. I have only read three of the stories, and most of the others I would like to read someday.
It turns out that I enjoyed the book just as much for the development of the relationships in the book and the look at a community on a small island. A.J. Fikry is the focal point of the story, but other characters and their relationships are also important, and more and more about these characters is revealed as the story continues.
There is a lovely scene when A.J. meets Officer Lambiase after the death of A.J.'s wife. A.J. tells Lambiase that they are characters in a novel:
My wife and I,” A.J. replied without thinking. “Oh, Christ, I just did that stupid thing where the character forgets that the spouse has died and he accidentally uses ‘we’. That’s such a cliché. Officer” – he paused to read the cop’s badge – “Lambiase, you and I are characters in a bad novel. Do you know that? How the heck did we end up here? You’re probably thinking to yourself, Poor bastard, and tonight you’ll hug your kids extra tight because that’s what characters in these kinds of novels do. ”
They begin to discuss books they have read and Lambiase reads mostly crime fiction and especially likes Jeffrey Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series. Over time, Lambiase and A.J. get to know each other better, discuss books they like, and Lambiase begins to enjoy different types of books and other genres.
This book has humor and some mystery and a bit of romance, and I am very glad I read it.
Publisher: Abacus Books, 2015 (orig. publ. 2014)
Length: 306 pages
Format: Trade paperback
Setting: USA, Massachusetts
Genre: Fiction, Books about Books
Source: I purchased my copy in December 2023.
20 comments:
I can see the inherent charm, from your description.
I picked up the audiobook at a library book sale not long ago and have been saving it for the right moment. So glad you enjoyed this. I would have feared from the description that it would be sappy but am glad it was not.
Constance
Todd, I was attracted to the book and it lived up to and beyond my expectations. The short comments and descriptions of the various short stories was a bonus that I did not expect at all.
Constance, I will be interested in what you think of the audio book. I have never listened to a book to read it.
This book is sentimental I suppose, but not to the point that it bothered me.
Hi Tracy, I read this book a few years back. I didn't connect with A J Fikry but your review encourages me to try again. Maybe this time in audio. Gabrielle Zevin is a very popular writer and I want to give her book another chance and sometimes you have to be in the right mood for a book and so a second reading might be a good idea.
Well, I am enthralled and will put this on my library list immediately.
There's something about the premise of this one that reminds me a little of Silas Marner. And any book with a bookshop setting always appeals to me. This is one that I think I would like, too. :D
Kathy, you are right about how much the reader's mood can make a difference. I did not like I Capture the Castle, which many readers lover, but I am sure at other times in my life I would have enjoyed it more. A.J. was a curmudgeon and opinionated at times. I am not sure I would like the movie based on this book.
Patti, the book is definitely worth a try, and I liked the way short stories were used in the story.
Lark, that is very interesting. Now I am going to have to look into Silas Marner.
Oh, my, Tracy, this does sound like my sort of book. I was wondering when I started reading your post whether it might be too 'frothy,' but it doesn't sound that way. And it's about books and a bookshop. What more could you want?
I've heard of this book, but didn't really know anything about it. It sounds good, so I've tagged it at Libby! The audio version is only seven hours, but I'm sometimes hesitant to pick audio when I can actually read one.
Like everyone else, I'm fascinated by the sound of this one, which I had not heard of before. Off to look it up. Excellent review, Tracy.
Margot, I did not find it frothy personally, but it is the same as a lot of books, opinions vary with reviewers. It had lots of good talk about books, for sure.
Kelly, This is definitely worth a try, especially if you can get it for free. I usually keep my copies of books about books just to refer to the books, and in this case the short stories, that I want to try.
Cath, this book has been out since 2014, and I think it was originally published with a slightly different title. I did not want to go much into plot because it all felt like spoilers to me, but there were so many things I liked about it that I could have pointed out. Characters that only show up for bit now and then, but have an impact, was one thing I really liked. For some readers, those elements could have been negatives.
It seems like it's been a long while since I read this book ... but it was probably 2014 for book club .... I don't remember its particulars now too well but I recall the bookstore part mostly at the beginning. Anything with a bookstore -- I'll likely read. I still need to read Zevin's Tomorrow novel.
Susan, the Tomorrow novel and this one are the only books I have read by Zevin, but I am very interested in trying others.
I did notice that a lot of the reviews I read had been written in 2014. So it was written before setting a book in a bookstore was a thing.
Sounds interesting.
Neeru, the story worked well for me. I was initially not sure I would like the inclusion of a child in the story, but I decided to give it a chance anyway. I have read quite a few books in the last few months featuring book clubs, or book stores, and I have not been disappointed in any of them.
Post a Comment