Paperback, 270 pages
Published Jan. 6, 2014 by Algonquin Books.
A.J. Fikry's life is not what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is failing, and his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. He is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island and from Amelia, the Knightley Press sales rep who refuses to be deterred by A.J.'s bad attitude. And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore that gives A.J. the ability to see everything anew. It doesn't take long for the locals to notice the change; or for that determined sales rep, Amelia, to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light; or for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.'s world.
Surprisingly disappointed by this one. It was fine, just nothing special and the ending fully pissed me off. I wanted more about the bookstore and less...sentimentality, I guess.
This is cheating: writing a book that mostly references other books that have been universally loved - of course folk will say it's great. oh, and make the protagonist a POC which is merely a fact and not in any way relevant to the plot. and adopt a black child. now the book is woke.... if anything, this book reminded me that there are plenty of great reads left, if I just exit modern times and choose from the previous generation of authors.
