The Storied Life of A.J. Finkry is a book that catches you off guard. Set on a small Massachusetts island, the book takes you through the life of the owner of a small bookshop, the only one in town. The book, written by Gabrielle Zevin, tells a tale of love and loss through the lens of a middle-aged man in a small town.
When the novel starts, A.J. Fikry is not a likable man. He is rude to a publishing representative and blunt with his staff at Island Books. However, Zevin masterfully reveals more about his life in rapid succession. Through a cheap plate of frozen vindaloo thrown at a wall and an expensive book not properly looked after, we learn of the death of Fikry's wife, Nic. When the book is stolen, A.J. begins to try to rebuild his life, taking up running once again.
These efforts find meaning when A.J. finds a young girl named Maya, abandoned in his bookstore. The mother left a note asking A.J. to care for the girl. For reasons even he can’t explain, A.J. does so and ends up adopting Maya. This is where the novel truly begins. We watch as both A.J. and Maya grow up, with the help of those on the island, such as Ismay, A.J.’s sister-in-law, and Daniel Parish, her author and cheating husband.
Zevin is fond of large time skips between chapters, preferring to tell the story of a life rather than a single period of it. She is fond of describing the everyday, but only the everyday with significance, such as Maya’s first dance recital or a failed trip to a topiary garden. The novel takes on the feeling of several short stories, all telling the same story but separated by time. The novel feels both momentous and remarkably quiet, remarkably simple despite the great mystery that surrounds several of the characters. It is a sad yet uplifting story of rebuilding, of finding great love despite a belief that all hope is lost. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry accomplishes what many writers dream of in less than 300 pages: an emotional story of the ordinary and the extraordinary.