39 pages • 1 hour read
Gabrielle ZevinThe Storied Life Of Aj Fikry
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Literary Titles
Each of the novel’s chapters is the title of a piece of literature, a book or short story whose narrative parallels the Fikry narrative.
Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter,” reflects Nic’s death: because of her gentleness and innocence, she is the tale’s proverbial “slaughtered lamb.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Diamond as Big as the Ritz can be seen as ironic: In the tale, the rich refuse to give up their lifestyles, no matter the cost, and here A.J. at first refuses to change his sedentary, bitter lifestyle.
Bret Harte’s “The Luck of Roaring Camp”—a story that follows the unlikely success of a mining camp that adopts a child—closely mirrors A.J.’s own adoption success story. And in Richard Bausch’s “What Feels Like the World,” the little girl and grandfather are stand-ins for Maya and A.J. The grandfather’s investment in his granddaughter’s success and happiness is similar in intensity to A.J.’s own investment in Maya.
Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is both a chapter title and Amelia’s favorite short story. For Amelia, a good man is hard to find; the same can be said for Ismay. Additionally, A.J.’s family vacation to the topiary garden goes “awry” much like the family’s vacation in O’Connor’s story (103).
Mark Twain's “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” connects the gambler in the story with A.J.’s gamble in life. A.J. gambles—largely with more success than Twain's gambler—on a reading, a ring, and a wedding.
Irwin Shaw’s 1939 short story “The Girls in Their Summer Dresses,” showcases an unfaithful husband and a shocking “twist”—similarly to the way the novel does when Daniel and Ismay share a final confrontation before their car accident (189).
“A Conversation with My Father,” Grace Paley’s 1972 short story, takes on a double meaning—especially for Maya. In one way, it reflects the rather intense conversation she has with A.J that results in his looking for a new house and her writing an award-winning essay. In another way, it ironically reflects on past conversations Maya had with Daniel, whom she did not realize was her father, and for whom she once harbored some romantic feelings.
J.D. Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” is a foil focuses on Maya’s own essay. Both pieces of writing end in a suicide.
Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” presents the idea that the truth always comes out. This theme is relevant for Maya who discovers more and more about herself and her family’s past.
Ironhead by Aimee Bender, talks about parents who produce a child who is nothing like them, which mirrors A.J.’s relationship with his mother. The short story also contains a warning against equating age with wisdom—an issue with which A.J. struggles.
The drunk couple in “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver could be A.J. and Amelia. Carver’s couple discusses love as Amelia and A.J. do before he goes into surgery.
Like Roald Dahl’s “The Bookseller,” the novel ends with a focus on human connection.
Alcohol
In a book where characters connect through literature, alcohol represents a cruder, poorer tool for human connection. Minor characters embrace alcohol, commonly as a way to socialize. Chief Lambiase sees drinking with A.J. as “tradition” and he always suggests serving alcohol at community events (124). Author Daniel Parish agrees, and says, “The only thing a good book party needs is plenty of liquor” (162). This need to lubricate social interactions with alcohol leads Leon Friedman to drink to excess and embarrass himself at the author reading.
A.J. and Amelia too abuse alcohol and often drink to avoid painful emotions. When readers first meet Amelia, she says to herself, “You’re not twenty-five anymore even if you drink like you are” (7). Starting her workday hungover is also often a normal occurrence. A.J. abuses alcohol in the same ways. Every occasion gives him a reason to drink— whether it’s to celebrate Maya’s adoption or just because Chief Lambiase stops by to pick up a book. When diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, A.J.’s first stop is the bar. On their first date, A.J. and Amelia agree alcohol is “better than family" (114). This seems to hold true even when they become family, as they often drink while arguing.
Colors
Throughout the book, the colors of various objects provide plot and character insights. For example, Amelia’s fingernails are painted yellow, suggesting she is somewhat quirky, and A.J.’s bookstore is painted purple, signifying that the store is both unique and important.
Maya is often associated with the color pink, the color of the youth and femininity she brings to A.J.’s life: At the first party A.J. throws for her, she is wearing a pink dress; the backpack she leaves at Ismay’s is “princess pink” (248). Later, as Maya falls in love with the bookstore, she also falls in love with its blue wallpaper. Blue is a calming presence, and the bookstore provides Maya with exactly the sense of security often associated with this color.
In another scene, color takes on a wholly larger significance for A.J. and Maya’s relationship. A customer asks A.J. why he is not “the same kind of black” as Maya, whose mother was African American (98).
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By Gabrielle Zevin
