The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry

An earlier work than the rather over-hyped “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” and much smaller in scope. This is a fairly straight/forward story of a bookseller on a holiday island in the North Eastern US and a small group of his friends and family.

AJ is a bit grumpy and suffers the tragic loss of his wife but gradually rebuilds life and community thanks to the arrival of young girl, abandoned in his bookstore. Assisted by his sister, her author husband, the local police chief and a publisher’s representatives we watch the girl, Maya, grow up in a bookstore.

This is a gentle story – there is certainly tragedy but nothing of horror, and there is plenty of humour and human interest.

It makes a good case for the value of bookstores, and of reading, writing and publishing books without ever becoming a great book itself. It kept me engaged, moved at the end and the overall message was positive. Not earth shaking but a pleasant enough read for a summer vacation perhaps.