The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry

by Gabrielle Zevin

You might have read another book by this author –Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow.

306 pages

Paperback

Date read: 03rd October 2025

First published in 2014, I have the 2023 edition.

Like other book covers of Gabrielle Zevin’s books, this book also has the rainbow ombre built into the font.

Thoughts

A slice of life book.

(Slice of life: a realistic representation of everyday experience in a film, play, or book. I used to think it meant nice and light.)

No unnecessary fluff. Straight-forward roller coaster ride which tugs at your heart strings in anticipation but also maintains a steady tempo. No twist is so jarring that you are overwhelmed. It is kind to a reader’s heart. Soothing. Comforting.

Fun Fact

Turns out Healing Fiction is a genre by itself. A recent term used by publishers to describe Japanese and Korean novels in translation, set in calm, cozy locations such as cafes, bookshops, and libraries, and usually featuring quiet, gentle plots with a thread of emotion running through them (source).

If-you-liked-this-you-will-like fiction recommendations:

1) Anxious People by Fredrik Backman(here's my post: https://www.juhisalgaonkar.com/post/anxious-people), 2) The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley, 3) Yeonnam-dong’s Smiley Laundromat by Kim Jiyun (part of the Healing Fiction genre).

And a non-fiction book recommendation: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgensen, even if it's just for the line (I might be paraphrasing) – “Happiness is a choice.”

You’ll like this book if

• You like books, literature

• You are a snob outside but a softie at heart

• You need to heal while hearing the truth

• You believe in acceptance

• You believe in the larger workings of the universe

• You like short stories

• You like children

• You like bookshops, actual physical bookshops

• You like small towns and remote places

• You are family-oriented

• You are passionate about your passion which is your work, and somehow you make it work

• You already are or are an aspiring bookshop owner

Quick vocab booster

• Maudlin: self-pitying or tearfully sentimental

• Provenance: the place of origin or earliest known history of something, a record of ownership used as a guide to authenticity or quality

• Shelf-talker: a small, in-store promotional sign or label attached to a retail shelf to attract a customer’s attention to a particular product or offer, e.g. highlighting discounts, new products, etc.

• Cerebral (adjective): of or relating to the brain or intellect

• Inclement (adjective): (of the weather) cold or wet

• Topiary: the art or practice of clipping shrubs or trees into ornamental shapes

• Pompadour: a hairstyle in which the hair is turned back off the forehead in a roll

• Carrell: a private study space, typically a cubicle or desk with partitions, found in libraries or other public places for individual study or reading

Some pithy lines from the book (spoiler-free)

NOTE: Just know that the absolute best lines in the book are the ones which are likely to be spoilers and so I have not included them, which means you must read the book and experience them yourself, because they really are wonderful and hilarious and even laugh out loud funny; and if not, they will at least warm your heart and make you smile.

Still, she is glad for the diversion and doesn’t want to become the kind of person who thinks that good news can only come from calls one was already expecting and callers one already knows.

The people are, I dunno, too human sometimes.

How little he had meant to Harvey, and how much Harvey had meant to him.

At last, he is dreaming.

Edgar Allan Poe defines a short story as readable in a single sitting. I imagine ‘single sitting’ was longer back in his day.

(Can add a note on the difference between a short story, a novella, a novel, etc.)

I never got around to it. I don’t know. A million retrospectively idiotic reasons, the main one being that I’m an idiot.

A. J. is not going for subtle.

It’s a wake up call is what it is.

‘How’s the book coming?’

‘It’s a book. It will have pages and a cover. It will have a plot, characters, complications. It will reflect years of studying, refining and practicing any craft.’

There are many challenges to long-distance running, but one of the greatest is the question of where to put one’s house keys.

But me also thinks that my latter-day reaction speaks to the necessity of encountering stories at precisely the right time in our lives.

A. J. apologizes but he is not sorry.

A flawed but adequate narrative emerges.

She is either bright-eyed or inexperienced enough to want to help them.

‘That’s something,’ Jenny says, by which she means it’s something entirely unhelpful.

Google is wide but not, alas, terribly deep.

‘Sometimes I like everything solved. Villains get punished. Good guys triumph. That sort of thing.’

Good morning, magazines! Good morning, bookmarks! Good morning, books! Good morning, store!

She has thoughts but not words.

‘…every word the right one and exactly where it should be. That’s basically the highest compliment I can give.’

‘A. J. arrives first, which gives him time to regret his choice.’

‘You’re obviously a more evolved person than I am.’

‘I’m trying to put it out of my mind.’

‘That’s one strategy.’

‘I take it to mean not a good one.’

A. J. considers this. ‘It sounds horrible.’

‘It was only a suggestion.’

‘But as I think about it, it’s probably the right kind of horrible.’

‘I accept the compliment.’

‘No one travels without a purpose. Those who are lost wish to be lost.’

‘You will be loved because for the first time in your life, you will truly not be alone. You will have chosen not to be alone.’

Is a twist less satisfying if you know it’s coming? Is a twist that you can’t predict symptomatic of bad construction? These are things to consider when writing.

If you’re stuck, reading helps.

As a bookseller, I assure that prize-winning can be somewhat important for sales but rarely matters much in terms of quality.

If something is good and universally acknowledged to be so, this is not reason enough to dislike it.

These things are never fair. People like what they like and that’s the great and terrible thing. It’s about personal taste and a certain set of a people on a certain day.

A place is not truly a place without a bookstore.

Well, I’m warning you. I could be a bad book with a good jacket.’

For the record, everything new is not worse than everything old.

‘You must keep up with the times,’ she continues.

‘Why must I? What is so good about the times?’

Good. A sense of humour is key.

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.

The words you can’t find, you borrow. We read to know we’re not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone.

We are not quite novels. We are not quite short stories. In the end, we are collected works.

He is crying. His heart is full and no words to release it. I know what words do, he thinks. They let us feel less.

‘Mr. Lambiase, have I got a book for you!’

P. S. – It ended up being a looong list of short sentences!

What is your favourite book? Drop a comment!

Which book should I cover next? Any recommendations?