Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store Book Review
Robin Sloan introduces readers to the life of Clay Jannon, an ambitious young man living in techy San Francisco. While looking for jobs, Clay stumbles upon Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore, a relic in the modern city of San Francisco. His curiosity gets the best of him, and naturally, he takes the job as desk clerk. It isn’t long until Clay notices something is going on in the store. Mysterious people enter the store, checking out books at the most random times- sometimes at four in the morning. Clay determines to find out what is going on, but in the process, discovers something even larger. With a little help from his friends, Clay embarks on the journey of a lifetime, in an adventure you won’t forget.
One thing that I really enjoyed about the novel, was the writing style. The writing style made it super easy and fun to read, offering us insight into the thoughts of the main character, Clay. Told in first person, readers could see what Clay was thinking, and the problems that he was facing. When Clay was first introduced to Kat, a girl who works at Google, Clay’s mind is racing. As readers, we were able to see what he was thinking, as he thought to himself, “Okay, I have to play this right. Don’t make it sound too nerdy.” (51). It was interesting to see what he was thinking, and I’m sure we have all felt what he was feeling at that moment. The writing style allowed us to relate to the characters more, as well as feel what they are going through. This was one of my favorite parts about the novel, because unlike some other stories, I was never bored. The writing style was definitely a huge factor, in terms of how much I enjoyed it.
Another thing thing that I really enjoyed about the novel, was the setting. Set in San Francisco, during a time of new rising technologies, there was a constant clash of old and new. The techy offices of San Francisco and Penumbra’s Bookstore were complete opposites, which made the story very interesting. The store itself is described as a “more-or-less normal bookstore,” (15), and that description holds up to be true throughout the novel. During the time of the novel, San Francisco was a playground for technology to grow, and this aspect of the city become very important to the novel later on.
I would recommend this book to anyone in a heartbeat. Before reading this book, I never really had any excellent reading experiences. But, when reading this book, I was always on the edge of my seat, and creating theories about what would happen next. Most of the time, my theories were wrong, but I still had a very enjoyable experience reading this book. I specifically recommend this book for readers who struggle to read classical books, or have a hard time reading older books. Robin Sloan does an amazing job at keeping the reader's attention, and he never lets the story drag on. I can guarantee than anyone else who reads this book can say the same.
One thing that I really enjoyed about the novel, was the writing style. The writing style made it super easy and fun to read, offering us insight into the thoughts of the main character, Clay. Told in first person, readers could see what Clay was thinking, and the problems that he was facing. When Clay was first introduced to Kat, a girl who works at Google, Clay’s mind is racing. As readers, we were able to see what he was thinking, as he thought to himself, “Okay, I have to play this right. Don’t make it sound too nerdy.” (51). It was interesting to see what he was thinking, and I’m sure we have all felt what he was feeling at that moment. The writing style allowed us to relate to the characters more, as well as feel what they are going through. This was one of my favorite parts about the novel, because unlike some other stories, I was never bored. The writing style was definitely a huge factor, in terms of how much I enjoyed it.
Another thing thing that I really enjoyed about the novel, was the setting. Set in San Francisco, during a time of new rising technologies, there was a constant clash of old and new. The techy offices of San Francisco and Penumbra’s Bookstore were complete opposites, which made the story very interesting. The store itself is described as a “more-or-less normal bookstore,” (15), and that description holds up to be true throughout the novel. During the time of the novel, San Francisco was a playground for technology to grow, and this aspect of the city become very important to the novel later on.
I would recommend this book to anyone in a heartbeat. Before reading this book, I never really had any excellent reading experiences. But, when reading this book, I was always on the edge of my seat, and creating theories about what would happen next. Most of the time, my theories were wrong, but I still had a very enjoyable experience reading this book. I specifically recommend this book for readers who struggle to read classical books, or have a hard time reading older books. Robin Sloan does an amazing job at keeping the reader's attention, and he never lets the story drag on. I can guarantee than anyone else who reads this book can say the same.
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