Something author Gabrielle Zevin says towards the end of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (#422) sums up this book perfectly: "Why is any one book different from any other book? They are different A.J. decides, because they are. We have to look inside many. We have to believe. We agree to be disappointed sometimes so that we can be exhilarated every now and again." This, for me, is that rare book which exhilarates, that you hate to see end so much that you purposely slow down your reading towards the end to prolong the pleasure it provides.
This is not a very big book. It's about a widowed bookseller on an island off the coast of Massachusetts who comes down from his apartment above the store one morning to discover an abandoned toddler with a note from her mother, asking him to take care of Maya. A simple premise, a la Silas Marner, but surprisingly touching and profound. A good story, about mostly decent folks, but filled with enough literary references to delight the book lover in all of us. It's a bit hard to describe just what makes this book so perfect in its own way.
Believe me, it would be almost as fast to read this gem than to read this blog. Put The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry at the top of your "Must Read!" list; you won't regret it.
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