Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Books | Fiction / Literary
3.6
(1.7K)
Robin Sloan
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 bookstoreThe 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 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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More Details:
Author
Robin Sloan
Pages
304
Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published Date
2012-10-02
ISBN
0374708835 9780374708832
Ratings
Google: 3
Community ReviewsSee all
"First off, this was shelved in the sci-fi/fantasy section at the library I got this from. So I was reading this expecting there to be magic and wizards and stuff. I was half way though when I realized it isn't that kind of book. No magic. In spite of this, I liked it. I laughed a couple of times. The MC is quite likeable. I enjoyed the combination of ancient, secret societies and highly advanced technology. The ending was a tad disappointing, but other then that, I enjoyed it. Also, glow in the dark cover! That really blew my mind. 6.5/10. Would recommend."
"3.5 stars. I actually started this book sometime in 2021 then tucked it away after a few chapters. I’m not entirely sure why I did, but I decided to give it the attention it deserves. I used to work at a bookstore, so I loved reading about the strange bookstore that is Mr. Penumbra’s. I enjoyed that this book merged the old with the new (books/writing and technology). If you’re into: solving mysteries, code-cracking technology, secret societies, and books… then I say give this one a shot. "
"I wanted to love this book. Its concept was interesting and caught my attention immediately. The actual story itself was slow. It was the mystery I wanted, but there was no real high point. It was -in a word- monotone. The secret society aspect and it's undercover/secret mission/espionage traits were very "National Treasure" in comparison. However, it's lack of action or danger in the thickest and most crucial moments made this a chore to read.. and finish."
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