Zevin~ The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
- Zebra Reads
- May 2, 2023
- 3 min read
A modern fiction novel, Zevin's The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was first published in 2014.
I went and looked Zevin up and there is not a ton of info out there about her, but she is a very well-received author as far as I can tell. She is pretty young (well, I’m going to say she’s young because she was born the same year I was), but has had several books published, has written screen plays, won some awards, so she is has done a lot in a short time.
Zevin is from the US, and was born in New York, but grew up in Florida. Her dad is Jewish with some Russian/Polish ancestry and her mom is from Korea. She went to Harvard, so she’s pretty darn smart and currently lives in California. The Storied Life of AJ Fikry was recently made into a movie (which I have not seen), but she wrote the screenplay for it. And her latest book, called Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow has won the Book of the Month Club’s 2022 book of the year. She also writes young adult novels, which I would love to read one or two of as well.
So, she really seems like just a super talented person all around and maybe when I get through my already too long To Be Read list, I’ll add a few more of her books onto it.
What it’s about: Life. Really, truly this book is simply about life. Life not being fair. Life being way too fair. The perfect and the imperfect. The love and the hurt and the hate and the truth and the lies and wonder and the mundane. It is all in this book here and there and somewhere scattered. And it is all told through snippets of the life of a bookstore owner, A.J. Fikry, living on a small Island in the northeast. He starts out with the loss of the most important thing(s) in his life, and then he is given something much more precious (no spoilers). And as would be expected on a small coastal island, everything is connected in ways no one expects and in fact in ways that A.J. Fikry doesn’t even realize. And it is all okay.
My take: Looking at the cover and reading the back of the books I am 110% certain I never would have bought it, if not for my quest to read through books from Z to A. Zevin was simply next in line and I picked it up. But, I absolutely loved it. It was a super quick and very easy read. It was straightforward, but meaningful. It made a long story short, but left out none of the necessary details. It showed Zevin’s interesting grasp of all things literature, without sounding pretentious (if you are not sure what I mean, check out The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox). It told a relatable story in a relatable way. It wasn’t neat. It definitely wasn’t tidy. The beginning was cruel and difficult and the ending was sad, but it was all very true. And I am quite certain that the storied life of A.J. Firky will be on my mind for a very long time to come.
Who should read it: Everyone. Mostly. If you like literature in general and are reasonably well versed in it, you may enjoy the perspective taken by the main character on his preferences in reading. Since it goes quickly it is not a tedious read and so is worth a try even if you don’t end up identifying with it. Though to be honest there is enough variety in the characters that it wouldn’t be too difficult to find one you would identify with.
Who should not read it: No one. Mostly. There are some more mature themes and discussions (sex and infidelity), but nothing that older teens wouldn’t have seen or heard before. I am not sure it would be as poignant or powerful for younger readers though who may still have an “ideal” life in their heads, or even a more cut and dried sense of good and bad. Men may not enjoy it as it tends to play up the faults of men, much more so than woman, though there are certainly strong male characters that are redeeming. It also might be a difficult read if you have lost a loved one, particularly a child or a spouse, but at the same time it could end up being a powerful read in that case as well, depending on your perspective.
Bottom Line: A really good book that tells the story of a modern life in all its honesty, that will make you better appreciate the people who wander into and out of your life.
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