"...we read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone."
-p. 249
"The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" was a pleasant surprise of a find. As I was seeking a new audiobook fro the gym, I found this gem and also found a free e-reader version via Amazon. A.J. Fikry himself might be disappointed in my mediums here (rightfully so), but I'd like to think that if his bookstore, Island Books, were real and I lived on an island in New England, I'd likely be a frequent patron.
Gabrielle Zevin's story is about a bookseller who, after being widowed, is rather disconnected from humanity. But after his prized possession is stolen (and thus, his escape), and an abandoned baby is left in his story, his life changes. It just so happens that all the lives around him at that moment also change. The story covers Fikry's transformation from grumpy curmudgeon to doting father, loving husband, and loyal best friend over the course of his lifetime. In the process, we meet a cast of characters that generally warmed my heart and had interesting side stories of their own - all interwoven into the bigger story of the choices we make, the heartbreaks we have, the trials we endure and the hope we find in each other and in stories. There's also an interesting subtext of lies based on omission and the times we choose to say or not to say a truth because of our connection to it and who it implicates.
I read it mostly in a few sittings over a weekend. Well, I listened to it and followed along. There were moments I could't put it down and ended up listening and loving for a couple of hours without interruption. This was a nice distraction from my normal slow weekend of watching TV, cleaning, and prepping food. My life on weekends is mostly pretty solitary these days - and I'm ok with that. But that's probably why the quote I pulled at the top of this stuck out to me while reading.
What I loved about this book is how invested the author got me in the characters and how wonderful they were. The ending had closure, but also was open-ended enough to imagine that life moves on after this particular story - that more stories will be told even after the character's in this one have moved on. The book is also peppered with literary references and even some pop culture ones, including reflections from Mr. Fikry on several short stories to open each chapter. Reading about other people's love of reading is usually going to go over well with me.
The story has some sad moments that I also connected with. Fikry even points out that maybe that's the point of reading - to connect with ourselves, to connect with others, and to affirm emotions we are feeling in a particular moment.
Below are my favorite earmarks from the read. I recommend it to anyone.
~MJ
"Despite this, Amelia often likes the winters the best. They are the underdogs, the sleepers, the long shots. (It is not too much of a stretch to point out that this is how she sees herself too.)" - p. 12
"They had only ever discussed book but what, in this life, is more personal than books?" - p. 18
"But me-also-thinks my latter-day reaction speaks to the necessity of encountering stories at precisely the right time in our lives. Remember, Maya: the things we respond to at twenty are not necessarily the same things we will respond to at forty and vice versa." - p. 40
"And then, despite the fact that A.J. does not believe in God, he closes his eyes and thanks whomever, the higher power, with all his porcupine heart." -p. 76
"Friedman gets at something specific about what it is to lose someone. How it isn't one thing. He writes about you lose and lose and lose." -p. 99
"No one travels without purpose. Those who are lost wish to be lost." -p. 151
"A good marriage is, at least, one part conspiracy." -p. 154
"It is the secret fear that we are unloveable that isolates us...but it is only because we are isolated that we think we are unloveable. Someday, you do not know when, you will driving down a road. And someday, you do not know when, he, or indeed she, will be there. You will be loved because for the first time in your life, you will truly not be alone. You will have chosen to not be alone." - p. 156
"Someday, you may think of marrying. Pick someone who thinks you're the only person in the room." -p.158
"Why is 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." -p. 238
"Maya, we are what we love. We are that we love." - p. 250
"We aren't the things we collect, acquire, read. We are, for as long as we are here, only love. The things we loved. The people we loved. And these, I think these really do live on." - p. 250
"Tomorrow, maybe, he will find the words." -p. 251
