The Firkry book is Zevin's 8th novel, written in 2014.
Gabrielle Zevin was born in 1977, her mother is Korean and her father a Russian Jew. She graduated with a English & American Literature degree from Harvard University. Zevin
values creativity, she co wrote a screenplay in 2005 while at Harvard, with her
fellow student and boyfriend, Hans Canosa. The screenplay was called "Conversations with
Other Women", which Canosa directed. The film starred Helena Bonham Carter and
was nominated for an Indie Spirit Award. She also published her first novel "Elsewhere" in
2005 about a teenage girl who dies and is adjusting to life in Elsewhere, where she ends
up. "Elsewhere" received the Borders Original Voices Award (remember Borders?), a
Quill award nomination and was long-listed for the Carnegie Medal. Zevin's books have
been translated into more than 20 languages.
There is 10 years between Zevin's first and last book (Firkry). Zevin commented in an interview:
"For years, I'd been grappling with writing a book about books, but I didn't really
know enough yet. It's been 10 years since my first novel was sold, so I think it took
that long to really understand something about the ecosystem that books journey in.
Before I had published my first book, I really never read Publishers Weekly, I never knew
that there were sales reps --and that's kind of a key person....I wanted to write a book
that honored some of these people, and especially booksellers."
Zevin's advice for aspiring writers: "Read a lot. Write a lot. Read a lot."
For Zevin, she feels that books help us connect, and connection can lead to love.
"I sometimes think that falling in love with a person is not so very different from falling
in love with a book."
Prepare to fall in love with A.J. Firkry and the characters in this book.
Prepare for our final discussion for this reading year.
We end on June 1st with a potluck.
Come join the discussion.....