Reading can change your life!

 

The collected works of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

AJ Fikry is at rock bottom - he is recently bereaved, owns a bookshop on a small island that caters for his tastes as opposed to the local residents and sees his precious copy of a rare Edgar Allan Pope book as his ticket to somewhere else.

A series of events including finding a small child left in his shop, and the theft of his precious book force him to start connecting with the real world and more importantly the people in it. Stories and books that he shares and recommends to local residents start making him less of an island and more part of a community.

Each chapter opens with AJ's recommendation of a short story - and it is only at the end that you realise why the story unfolds in this way. He recommends stories from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Roald Dahl and Raymond Chandler and many more - and they make you want to seek them out and see if you agree with the review!

This is a brilliant book which I really enjoyed - if you believe in the power of books, stories and reading to make connections and at times be life changing and affirming this is the book for you!

This book was received for free form Netgalley in exchange for an honest review