Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Genre: Adult Fiction
Publisher: Picador
Paperback release date: September 24 2013
Source: Purchased
Pages: 304
In a word: A magical bookish mystery, a quirky blend of technology and dusty old books, an odd group of characters that have the best adventure ever, full of hijinks that will have you cheering by the end of the story.
All the secrets in the world worth knowing are hiding in plain sight.
I read Mr. Penumbra over six months ago, but I can still remember the goose bumps I got after reading the final page, and the overwhelming desire to shout my love of this book from the rooftops. This book has something for everyone. Many of the characters are tech-savvy and so there are lots of pop culture references (and some of the action even takes place in the offices of Google in San Francisco). Mr. Penumbra’s bookstore is a marvel and a puzzle just waiting to be solved, as our main character Clay comes to realize shortly after he goes to work there. It’s also an adventure story, as our characters must go on a quest or two throughout the course of the story. Do not judge this book by its cover. It looks innocent, innocuous even, but the story that unfolds between the covers is one you won’t soon forget.
Clay is an out-of-work web designer who stumbles upon a used bookstore one day, drawn in by a Help Wanted sign in the window. But this isn’t any ordinary bookstore. Shelves tower into the shadows above and the books themselves are mostly unfamiliar. The owner, Mr. Penumbra, gives Clay a job working the night shift, but gives him a strange task: he must keep track of everything that happens during his shift in a journal, including who came into the store and what books they borrowed, what they were wearing, even what their demeanor seemed to be. Clay begins his strange job and soon after decides to use his computer skills to create a real-life schematic of the bookstore. In doing so he manages to unlock a deeply buried secret, and so begins his adventure.
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is one of those books that just makes you happy. It’s one of those books that’s hard to stop reading once you start, it’s that good. Clay is a problem solver who, once he discovers there’s a mystery afoot in the bookstore, is unable to rest until he finds the answers. He brings some trusted friends into the story to help him, including a girl named Kat who works at Google and a wealthy guy named Neel who is working on a most unusual software application. Mr. Penumbra himself is, of course, part of the story, and he’s holding on to many of the secrets that Clay and his friends are trying to uncover. Each character adds something different and wonderful to the book, and I loved each one for different reasons.
One of my favorite scenes takes place near the end of the story, when Clay is trying to hunt down some old printing press punches of a certain font (and if you’re like me, you’ll Google the font to see if it really exists!). His search leads him to a warehouse for lost artifacts that reminded me so much of the television show Warehouse 13. Everything about that scene was surreal and magical.
Clay learns many life lessons along the way, mostly imparted by Mr. Penumbra, but the book isn’t preachy at all. It simply presents these snippets of advice as part of the story. Sloan’s pacing was particularly good and he ties everything up neatly by the end. The ending was without a doubt the best ending I’ve ever read. The last couple of paragraphs in particular will fill your heart with joy and make you want to shout out to everyone you know to READ THIS BOOK NOW!
Sounds intriguing, I’ve been meaning to get this one for a while now! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
There aren’t many bookstores near me so I guess my favorite would have to be Barnes & Noble- chairs for lounging, a cafe for coffee and books galore! When I was younger, there was a Fireside bookstore that I loved- it was an “A” frame store and they had a reading nook that I loved to sit in to read.
Let’s all get together an open an indie bookstore! Who’s with me?
Unfortunately there aren’t many local bookstores nearby. Many independent bookstores have gone out of business. My favorite remaining bookstore is Barnes & Noble. The employees are always pleasant and so very helpful.
Yes, very sad. Barnes & Noble is practically the only bookstore in many towns.
Longfellow Books, and great independent book store in Portland, ME.
I’ve heard of Longfellow Books, but I’ve never been to Maine. Would love to visit!
I live in a small town, and unfortunately no local booksellers. So I rely mainly on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. When I lived in FL for many, many years, it was always Paperback Palace and Book Barn, I could browse for hours.
It’s sad when small towns lose their bookstores. I come from a small town and that happened to us too.
I live in a very rural area. We have nothing here, except a small grocery store and a small “dollar” (ha!) store. My favorite bookstore is in Tupelo, MS. It’s a used bookstore with wide aisles made for comfortable viewing. Many people can sit on the floor and spread their chosen books for comparison around them. There are chairs at the end of aisles and in front of the large children’s section and other sections at the very back of the store and the hardback section in the front for those who might want to read a few passages. The proprietors come by regularly to offer help or take your selections to the front so you don’t have to cart them around with you. The owner will take your name if you are looking for a particular book and will call you should someone donate that book. The atmosphere is quiet, yet genial. The customers are laid back and kind to another. michelle_willms@yahoo.com
Wow Michelle, that sounds awesome! It makes me want to visit Tupelo just to check out that amazing bookstore!
We have a few small books stores, here, but I guess my favorite for finding what I want is Barnes and Noble it is clean, neat and has no strange odors, and I can usually find what I am looking for. Plus enjoy a great cup of coffee.
Yes, I love Barnes & Noble too:)
I actually don’t go to bookstores that often, I haven’t gotten into the habit of impulse buying thank goodness-usually I can wait until the library gets it 🙂 I do love to go to our little used book store Book Gallery West to see what they have though 🙂
I wish I went to the library more often! I have a terrible impulse problem:)
I used to love Borders but that went bankrupt. Now, I pretty much buy books from Amazon and Thriftbooks.
Books that you can’t put down are the best. 6 months to write your review? I’m amazed you could keep it straight with all that you read!
Well, I had to go back and skim the book. I’m not that good at remembering details, but this book is more about the emotions of reading it, not necessarily what the story’s about.
King’s English bookstore in downtown SLC. Great book store where all the authors come to when in Utah.
The book sounds amazing! I haven’t found my local small bookstores yet, but I know where all the ones are near my Mom’s house.
Want to read this! My favorite bookstore was in the small town in NJ where I lived for 60 years. They sold and traded used books (you earned points for bringing in your books) and they also sold new books and were happy to order a book for you if you asked. They also served coffee. I mean, what more is there really? Thank you for your giveaways…they are great!
I don’t have any indie bookstores nearby, just a Barnes and Nobel, and I wouldn’t consider that a favorite since there’s nothing special about it except it has, you know, books! I wish there was a used bookstore near me–I like old books. :]
Barnes and Noble! 😀 But I do like those supermarkets like Target, Walmart, etc. too to browse new releases. 😀
[…] The last couple of paragraphs in particular will fill your heart with joy! Books, Bones and Buffy […]