A two-year-old is A. J. Fikry’s rescuer. Owner of a
declining bookstore on an island off the Massachusetts coast, A.
J. has become despondent and curmudgeonly since his wife’s
accidental death. A toddler, Maya, is abandoned in the bookstore
with a note from the mother. A. J. decides to foster and then
adopt the girl. We see a more likable A. J. as he brings up Maya,
although he can still be opinionated, especially when it comes to
books and reading.
Vivid characters populate The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry.
Besides A. J. and Maya, they include the quirky publisher’s
representative who becomes A. J.’s second wife; a good-natured
policeman who A. J. turns into a reader of a certain sort of
novel; A. J.’s solicitous sister-in-law; her philandering husband,
a writer; and the bookstore itself and its resort location. The
novel is an entertaining read, although A. J.’s transformation
from curmudgeonly to loving happens awfully quickly. The novel
isn’t the deepest, but it’s a good choice for a quick, feel-good
read.
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