I'm a
sucker for books about books, for books about readers and writers, booksellers
and bookstores. I'm also making a concerted effort to read more recently
published books--I try to pick a book from each month's Book Page and read it
before too much time passes. This month's pick was The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin.
I enjoyed this modern-day take on the Silas Marner story in which a crotchety, middle-aged widower is robbed of his treasure only to find love, happiness, and family in its wake. A.J. grew on me as the story progressed, and I enjoyed reading about the island town in Massachusetts where the story takes place and which is people by a host of interesting people. My favorite character was actually the police chief, Lambiase, who thinks he doesn't like to read but ends up hosting a book club at the bookstore by midway through the book.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is a book for those of us who love to read--each chapter begins with a quote or two from A.J. about a book, and most of the dialogue has to doing with reading, writing, or selling books.
It's not a surprising book--I figured out most of the plot points a beat or two ahead of the story--but that's okay. It was a pleasant book, an interesting story about interesting people, and was a great armchair trip to coastal New England.
I enjoyed this modern-day take on the Silas Marner story in which a crotchety, middle-aged widower is robbed of his treasure only to find love, happiness, and family in its wake. A.J. grew on me as the story progressed, and I enjoyed reading about the island town in Massachusetts where the story takes place and which is people by a host of interesting people. My favorite character was actually the police chief, Lambiase, who thinks he doesn't like to read but ends up hosting a book club at the bookstore by midway through the book.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is a book for those of us who love to read--each chapter begins with a quote or two from A.J. about a book, and most of the dialogue has to doing with reading, writing, or selling books.
It's not a surprising book--I figured out most of the plot points a beat or two ahead of the story--but that's okay. It was a pleasant book, an interesting story about interesting people, and was a great armchair trip to coastal New England.
