A.J. Fikry lives on Alice Island, on the Northeast Coast of the United States, not far from Providence, Rhode Island. Although still a young man, he has been recently widowed after his wife dies in a car accident. A.J. is still running their independent book store but his heart is no longer in it. He's drinking heavily, not taking care of himself and hating his life. The one item of value he had in his life was a rare copy of Tamerlane by Edgar Allan Poe and it gets stolen from his house one night after he has had too much to drink. This book was his retirement savings plan and now his financial future is uncertain because the book store isn't making a lot of money.
Then one day there is an unexpected delivery at the store and A.J.'s life changes in an instant.
This is a delightful read, filled with talk about other books. Because A.J. runs a book store he is always talking about books with other characters. Book lovers will love that aspect of the story. I love A.J.'s opinionated ways and his strong feelings about literature (many of which I share). The book is filled with fun characters and an engaging story. Maybe it all comes together a little too easily, but it is still a sweet little book. It won't take you long to read it, but almost everyone in our book club enjoyed it. One member said she wasn't really getting into it, but everyone else really enjoyed it.
I really don't think you can go wrong with this one, especially if you are the type of person who could spend hours browsing in an independent or used book store. This one was a big hit for me.
