In 2014, American writer Gabriela Zevin's "Island Bookstore" caused a huge sensation as soon as it was published.
It sold well in 30 countries in just one year, making it the fastest global book in publishing history.
Thousands of readers see their own shadow from the protagonist Fickley.
In middle age, Faikri experienced the death of relatives, the business was on the verge of bankruptcy, and the only valuable book of poetry was stolen.
But as he picked up his spirits and continued to move forward, the lost happiness, joy, and hope all came back to him in another way.
As the saying goes: Everything in this world has cause and effect.
Life is like a seesaw, only one side is low, the other side can be high.
When you regret losing, maybe around the corner, you can reap another gift.
All the losses in life hide another kind of gain.
The Island Bookstore is the only bookstore on Alice Island.
Bookshop owners Fickley and Nicole, a couple, gave up the opportunity to pursue a PhD and live comfortably with books on the island.
Unfortunately, when Nicole was two months pregnant, she was unfortunately in a car accident and left Fikri forever.
Since then, The world of Fickley has lost its color.
He has no intention of running the bookstore, and often loses his temper with customers inexplicably, causing the store's business to deteriorate day by day.
One day he woke up from a hangover and found that the store's collection of valuable poems, Timur, was missing.
The book was worth enough to get him to close his shop and retire early.
He panicked and reported the case, and the police searched with him for a long time, but never found it.
Bereavement of his wife, loss of books, fate ruthlessly took away the most precious love and wealth of his life.
Seeing no hope of retirement, he had to start working at the bookstore again.
Because he had nothing of value, he stopped locking the door every time he went out.
One night, while he was away, a desperate unmarried mother secretly put her two-year-old daughter Maya in the shop.
A note was attached asking Fickley to adopt his daughter and let her grow up in a bookstore.
At the first sight of Maya, Faikri's heart was melted by this cute little fellow.
He said that he had no experience and could not raise children, but he was reluctant to send Maya to a foster family.
To take good care of Maya, he searched the Internet for food supplements, bathes, and diaper changes for his two-year-old.
Every night before going to bed, he also patiently told stories to coax Maya to sleep.
After just a few days together, Maya opened her heart to accept him and said "love you" to him affectionately.
Neighbors learned that he had adopted a baby girl, fearing that he would not take care of him, and came to his door to guide him.
The bookstore came alive again, rekindling hope for Fickley's life.
Faikri, who thought he was lonely for the rest of his life, unexpectedly received the warmest healing.
I remember reading a sentence on the Internet:
"There are always many unexpected things in life, sometimes they take something out of your hands, sometimes they give you some surprises." 」
The blessings and misfortunes of the world depend on each other, and all things go hand in hand.
One bad thing in the moment, perhaps to pave the way for another good thing;
Missed views on departure may surprise you halfway through.
Don't have to focus on what's gone, indulge in sighs and pain, and believe that the future is always worth looking forward to.
Every day I wake up and let go of yesterday, it is a new life.
The arrival of the Maya gave the world of Fikri a joy and laughter.
But whenever the night is quiet, he still feels very lonely.
At one point, book salesman Amelia recommended him a book called Twilight Blossom.
After he finished reading it, he immediately fell in love with the story in the book.
To express his appreciation for the book, he invited Amelia to lunch.
During the banquet, the two talked happily.
He found Amelia optimistic, gentle, and similar interests to him.
Unconsciously, Fickley was moved by Amelia.
He began to find excuses to meet her, and also made time to read books so that he could communicate with her after reading feelings.
However, every time the words of confession came to his mouth, Faikri hesitantly took them back.
He was worried that he was not worthy of the other party, and he was even more afraid of experiencing loss again.
Encouraged to pursue happiness boldly, he consoled himself: "It is enough for me to have Maya." ”
Someone enthusiastically arranged a blind date for him, and he couldn't help but compare the blind date with Amelia.
He missed Amelia hopelessly as he struggled with inner entanglements.
Later, Maya read his mind and created opportunities for them to be alone.
He finally plucked up the courage to express his admiration for Amelia.
In this way, he once again harvested happy love and marriage.
Letting go of the past and worries, he fulfilled the fullness of his life.
Say goodbye to the sorrows and joys of the past and empty the obsessions in your heart in order to make more space to accept the beautiful.
Everything you give will come back to yourself.
There is a saying on the Internet:
"Every candy you send out goes to where it should go, but the earth is round, and the good things you've done will eventually come back to you."
Ficklerie was once an outlier on Alice's island.
Residents repeatedly invited him to participate in activities in the town, such as sponsoring football teams and participating in cake bazaars, but he always refused.
Running a bookstore for many years, he never ordered books that could not make money, and he was reluctant to vacate the bookstore space for parties.
It wasn't until Maya and Amelia came into his life that he understood that love could only be won if he gave first.
He changed his cold attitude and began to carefully select the right book for each customer and organize a "reading group" for them.
He also went to great lengths to organize meet-and-greets for undersold writers, regularly inviting residents to bookstore parties.
Over time, kojima bookstores have become an indispensable part of everyone's life.
Maya was raised by Fikri to be healthy, cheerful, loved by everyone, and set herself the goal of becoming a writer.
The residents were also influenced by him to develop the habit of reading and spent a lot of happy time in the bookstore.
In this way, Faikri went from a solitary freak to the most popular person on the island.
However, just as Faikri was basking in happiness, he suddenly learned that he had a rare cytoma.
He and his family managed to raise money for surgery, actively cooperated with the treatment, and still could not return to heaven.
But at the time of his death, he was afraid not of death, but of the financial hardship of his wife and daughter, and the unsustainability of the bookstore.
Sure enough, after his death, Amelia had to move out of the island and work in New York in order to allow Maya to continue her studies.
They desperately need money to start a new life, and they are reluctant to leave the island bookstore.
Just when they were at a loss, a couple who had been married by the island bookstore took out all their savings to buy the store.
Residents continue to read, buy books and organize activities.
Tourists from all over the world also flocked to the area, and the small island bookstore gradually became a popular attraction on Alice Island.
The love and hope that Fakri brought to everyone continued to be passed on; the care given to others became a blessing to give back to oneself.
Everything has cause and effect, and everything has reincarnation.
The more kindness a person gives to the world, the more warmth he receives.
There is a sentence in the book:
"Everyone has the most difficult year in their lives, making life beautiful and vast."
This life of a person is a cyclical process.
The present thing backfires, perhaps fate has other arrangements; life is difficult and dangerous, and we must believe that after the disaster is rebirth.
Those obstacles that you think you can't cross, the sufferings that you can't eat, and look back after the passage of time are just the road to happiness.
Give it a thumbs up, face the ups and downs of life calmly, and wait patiently for the next dawn.
Author: Insight Xu Zhaohui