Author Event – Gabrielle Zevin at Griffin Bay Bookstore

Wednesday Morning, April 9, 11:00 Am

Gabrielle Zevin’s novel The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is a making a splash with booksellers across the nation. It’s tender, funny, and a paean to books, bookstores, and the people who sell them. And it’s the #1 Indie Pick For April 2014

Zevin is currently on a whirlwind nation-wide tour to introduce The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, visiting bookstores for a meet and greet and gift exchange. She’ll be at Griffin Bay Bookstore on Wednesday morning, April 9, 11:00 am. Don’t miss the chance to meet this young author.

Gabrielle’s cross-country book tour departs from the standard book talk and signing. She stops in bookstores for short visit with each bookseller, chats with staff, promotes her book. A companion live-blogs about the meeting, posts photos, and describes the unique character of each bookstore. The emphasis is on exchange—exchange of gifts, information, ideas, and love of books.

Gabrielle Zevin – Hans Canosa photo

Griffin Bay Bookstore will present Gabrielle with a copy of the 50th anniversary edition of a Northwest classic: The Curve of Time, by M. Wylie Blanchet, and staff will also give Gabrielle a one-of-a-kind treat served in the bookstore café: a big Orca shortbread cookie from Felicitations.

Elsewhere in Washington Gabrielle has been feted by: Eagle Harbor Bookstore (local fudge and a copy of Once Upon a Two by Four); University Book Store (café Vita coffee and Boys in the Boat); Third Place Books (Theo chocolate); Liberty Bay Books (lefse). On April 9 Gabrielle will also visit Darvill’s Bookstore on Orcas Island and Watermark Book Company in Anacortes. Gabrielle was recently interviewed by Audie Cornish on NPR’s All Things Considered.

It’s no surprise that booksellers across the country have fallen in love this spritely novel about a bitter, short-tempered, and curmudgeonly bookseller named A.J. Fikry, who has become a widow far too soon and feels he has lost what seemed to be the best part of his life. A.J. is left with an independent bookstore, Island Books, withering away on Alice Island (a small point on the map of New England) that attracts few readers who pass his muster. When a two-year-old baby, Maya, is abandoned in the dismally stocked children’s section, A.J. surprisingly elects to keep her. He turns out to be a brilliant father, and Maya turns out to be an extraordinary daughter. Their relationship widens A.J.’s world and changes the fortunes of the business and the lives of several other Alice residents. A.J. and Maya also alter the life of Amelia Loman, the book rep for Knightley Press, who is awkwardly romanced into joining their family.

Zevin pays homage to books and their influence on our lives as well as the way families are forged. Her novel is easy to love: it is quick reading and sweet, full of wonderful details, literary references, and fun dialog. Yet under the surface the tale is far more oblique and subtle in its construction and heft. Each chapter begins with a note about a short story, and those comments become more resonant as the narrative develops, until, at the end, readers come to realize that they have been caught in the clever snare of the short form themselves, but one, thankfully, that finds a way to continue.

As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.

“In this sweet, uplifting homage to bookstores, Zevin perfectly captures the joy of connecting people and books . . . Filled with interesting characters, a deep knowledge of bookselling, wonderful critiques of classic titles, and very funny depictions of book clubs and author events, this will prove irresistible to book lovers everywhere.” —Booklist

About the Author
Gabrielle Zevin has published six adult and young adult novels, including Elsewhere, an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book. She has written for the New York Times Book Review and NPR’s All Things Considered. She lives in Los Angeles.

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