A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life–mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone–and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder … climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead “checking out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he’s embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what’s going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.
With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the twenty-first century, evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or a young Umberto Eco, but with a unique and feisty sensibility that’s rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious reader, no matter the time of day.
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This is a unique approach to storytelling which merges the old with the new. Rarely have I seen an author delve into the subject of bookstores and spin it with a technology element that works beautifully. I happened upon this book by chance while at the library and was glad I chose it since it kept me enthralled in the storytelling. I highly …
Couldn’t get into it. Felt rather shallow.
Quite different than most, with a lot of insight into modern Google systems overlaying the musty old bookstore. Characters were very well done. Liked the inter-generational component.
A nice way to spend reading.
Quirky, Witty and Typo
Loved this book!! Having so many current references competing with centuries old references lends the book a contemporary feel, however, set in at times, the 16th century. Lovely read!!
Loved The Adventure, Though Character Quirks Existed More Than Character Flaws
Loved the adventure story, one that also seems like a love note to Google and books. It was fun, kept me engaged, and made me want to see where the path was leading. It was a good web of story weaving, and was written in a way that felt like it would be a friendly and …
I loved this book. It was very unique and the characters stayed with me long after I finished the book. It also takes place in and around a bookstore which is one of my favorite places to be.
If you love mystery, magic, and technology, this book is for you.
Interesting, but not spectacular, IMO. I enjoyed the bits about Aldus Manutius and the bookstore and his friend’s love of building models, but I got a bit tired of all the Google stuff. Hey, I love Google as much as the next person; we use Google Scholar in our law office, and I’ve planned two trips across the UK solely with Google Maps, but this …
An original approach to a story with a moral. Well done and appropriate for our increasingly complicated times.
Enjoyable but not exceptional.
An interesting intrigue of a plot…
A great fun read. Fast paced, not too long. A mystery with a unique mix of old school (physical books) and modern (computers).
A fun read on the use of books as an adventure into accumulation of knowledge
This book made me buy Robin Sloan’s next book. And it was just as wonderful and odd in a very gratifying way. Loved this book, loved the way it was written, and love her other work as well.
This was a very unique and interesting story. Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining.
Make sure to also read the short story prequel!
It took me a while to get into this book but I found myself coming back to see what happened next. It is an unusual story but great for anyone who loves books.
It was good, but a smidge anticlimactic. Good read though!
Very different and fun
This was a great book. I actually listened on audiobooks and found it easy and enjoyable listen.