The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry cover art

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

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The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

By: Gabrielle Zevin
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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About this listen

BY THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW

A.J. Fikry, the grumpy owner of Island Books, is going through a hard time: his bookshop is failing, he has lost his beloved wife, and his prized possession - a rare first edition book has been stolen. Over time, he has given up on people, and even the books in his store, instead of offering solace, are yet another reminder of a world that is changing too rapidly.

But one day A.J. finds two-year-old Maya sitting on the bookshop floor, with a note attached to her asking the owner to look after her. His life - and Maya's - is changed forever.

Gabrielle Zevin's enchanting novel is a love letter to the world of books - an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.

©2014 Gabrielle Zevin (P)2023 Little Brown Book Group Limited
Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Feel-Good

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Critic reviews

'Marvelously optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both.' Washington Post

All stars
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Invested in the characters and loved the depth and nuance to the storyline. Cannot recommend enough!

The best book ever!

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I absolutely loved this book. I even bought the paperback. Such good storytelling from Zevin. The characters are so real, it’s almost as if I could visit the bookstore in real life.

Truly a wonderful book

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This is one of the best books ever in my opinion. All the characters are interesting and believable.

Wonderful story beautifully read.

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Such a beautiful story ! Finished it in a day ! Love love love !!! Will think about this book for a long time.

Loved it !

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I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book at first but I enjoyed the slow but steady pace of the storyline and the development of the characters. I was moved by ending and am sad now it’s finished. This is always the sign of an enjoyable book.

Surprisingly moving

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