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.
Chapters 8-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 8 Summary: “A Conversation with My Father”
A.J. reviews Grace Paley’s “A Conversation with My Father.” The briefest of A.J.’s review thus far, he mentions that the short story is about a “dying father” who fights with his daughter about the craft of storytelling (205). He insists Maya will like this story.
Maya is now 14 and resents being cooped up above the bookstore all the time. She works on an assignment for her creative writing class which calls for her to discuss someone she wishes to know better. She tries to write about her father but struggles with so little information on which to base the essay. Maya explains the assignment to Amelia who suggests she write about her mother. Maya feels this is too “obvious” and doesn’t seem to want to reward her mother with any space on the page or in her life (209). Amelia, how has just lost her own mother, defends Marian.
At dinner, A.J. suggests Maya write about Daniel, since he was her “first literary crush” (210). Maya storms out, insulted that everyone is joking about her problem. She “bangs her knee on a bookshelf” on the way out, causing her to angrily point out the close living quarters (210). A.J. decides he needs to re-invigorate his search for a bigger house. Thus far, the search has not been successful due to financial constraints.
In the meantime, Maya writes her paper and turns it in. Despite other students’ critiques, the teacher likes her story so much he reads it to the class and enters it, along with another student’s story, into a competition. After class, the other nominated student, John, follows Maya to her locker. He asks if she wants to carpool to the award ceremony but she, via lengthy explanation, says no. He brushes it off and suggests they carpool some other time.
In preparation for the ceremony, John and Maya practice reading their stories aloud to one another. The night of the ceremony, Maya wants to introduce A.J. to her leather-clad teacher but is worried A.J. will be too “embarrassing” (217). She decides against wearing the dress Amelia picked out and opts for jeans instead, hoping not to appear too invested in the evening. Of the 40 nominees, only three get to read their work on stage. John is the first one chosen, and Maya tries not to be jealous. But the announcer calls her name, too, leading Maya to “grab […] A.J.’s hand” (220).
Chapter 9 Summary: “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”
A.J. reviews J.D. Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by comparing it to Maya’s short story. John’s story placed higher than Maya’s in the contest, but A.J. explains that popularity and quality do not necessarily correlate. He offers some constructive criticism about how she might have better crafted her story.
The chapter then presents the full text of Maya’s award-winning essay “A Trip to the Beach,” told from Marian’s point of view. In the story, Maya imagines the conversation in which her mother finds out she has lost her college scholarship, as well as a scene in which the babysitter quits. Maya paints Marian as a single mother buried in responsibilities and financial struggles, with no stable place to live and no one to turn to for help—not even Maya’s father. Marian travels to Alice Island and enters A.J.’s bookstore to get out of the cold. She then leaves her young child, Maya, in the shop. The story ends with Marian walking into the cold ocean and swimming away to her death.
The narrative then switches back to the award reception where Maya is congratulating John on winning first place. He tells her he thinks she should have won and offers to split the prize with her, but she turns down his offer. He tries to get her to spend time with him, which she also rejects. When they get home, A.J. shakes her hand and tells Maya how subjective writing contests are. He assures her that her entry proves she is “a writer” (233). Shortly after this, A.J., Amelia, and Maya move into a new house that is roomy but requires a lot of work.
Chapter 10 Summary: “The Tell-Tale Heart”
In his review of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” A.J. includes a note to Maya about the fact that he used to be married to Nic. He recounts how they met and how she died. He explains that they were initially both working on their PhDs but never felt happy with that life and thus decided to give it all up and open a bookstore in Nic’s hometown. He tells Maya his dissertation would have been about Edgar Allen Poe and that if she wants more insight into how he feels about this particular short story, she should look up what remains of his dissertation.
Chief Lambiase and his fellow book club members are debating their latest reading selection when Ismay walks in, catching his attention. After she leaves, Chief Lambiase asks A.J. if he will find out if Ismay would go on a date with him. When asked, Ismay is hesitant because Lambiase is “blue-collar,” but she agrees to the date (242). On their first date, they discuss what books they like to read, and, after dinner, they sleep together, despite Ismay’s insecurity about her age and the scars from the car accident. She keeps the light on to see his reaction, and he says he still finds her beautiful.
The next morning while Ismay makes breakfast, Lambiase goes through her things. He notices a pink backpack with Maya’s name on it and opens it. Inside is A.J.’s missing copy of Tamerlane smeared with crayon. He decides to put it back and not say anything, knowing that if he does, it will ruin his chance of a relationship with Ismay. She serves pancakes, and he asks if she read Maya’s story about Marian’s death. Ismay hasn’t. When Lambiase says he still wonders what really happened with Marian, Ismay says she wonders too.
Chapters 8-10 Analysis
One of the most significant plot developments of this section is the change in Maya’s personality. While Part 1 showcases A.J.’s changing personality, Part 2 focuses on Maya’s growth. No longer the sweet, loving little girl who worshipped A.J., at 14 Maya is now skeptical of and embarrassed by him. She can’t bring herself to introduce him to her favorite teacher, and she no longer equates the role of the bookseller with the idea of hero. Nevertheless, one aspect of their father-daughter relationship remains constant: Maya wants A.J.’s approval. When he feeds her a list of inspiring books to help with her writing assignment, she does not turn her nose up at his suggestions; rather, she immediately takes advantage of the window he has opened for her. And although her story takes third-place in the contest, it is clear that Maya feels she has impressed her most important judge: her father. She even goes so far as to tell herself that being a writer is contingent on her father’s perception of her.
In this section, the author explores the idea that emotional truth supersedes objective truth. Maya’s essay poses the question: How much do the details of Marian’s death matter if those left behind face the emotional repercussions of it? This theme is also apparent in A.J.’s review of “The Tell-Tale Heart” to which he only ascribes one word of description: “True!” (235). For A.J., the emotional truth conveyed in a story is what matters.
Zevin also addresses the tie between elitism and literature. Early in the book, people consider A.J. a snob because of his narrow-minded judgment of books and his propensity to make literary references most people won’t understand. In this section, Ismay also reveals her arrogance: She doesn’t believe Chief Lambiase will have depth because he is a police officer. A.J. calls her out on this, which is most likely because, now with clearer eyes, he sees his former pretentiousness in her current attitude.
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