Mr.Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore Book Review

Mr.Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore Book Review

*SPOILER ALERT*

 "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan combines old-world humor with the luxuries of the digital age. The world of books, codes, and secrets is explored in depth in Sloan's novel, She uses traditional books and modern technology to create a nice dynamic. The book is a fun look at how these two things that seem to be at odds with each other can live together in peace. The story introduces our protagonist and narrator Clay Jannon, a young man who comes across Mr.Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. The bookstore is very outdated and full of many older books that seem out of place in today’s society. The plot starts to show, after learning of a secret organization that relies on these books to read messages, Clay begins to wonder about the limits of tradition and the value of new ideas.

Sloan has an interesting writing style and is always full of insightful viewpoints.  When Kat, Clay’s girlfriend tries to read The New York Times on paper and her phone at the same time, the novel takes a humorous approach while capturing the spirit of the present digital age. For example, "Kat bought a New York Times but couldn't figure out how to operate it, so now she's fiddling with her phone" (Sloan 81). The contrast between physical books and electronic readers is highlighted. A book can be passed down through the generations, while a digital device can be utilized right away. It gives a direct relation to how we live our lives now and includes humor at the same time.

This old book store serves as a gateway to an unknown organization that only communicates in code thanks to its shelves of ancient books. When Sloan stated, "Our books still do not require batteries, But I am no fool. It is a slender advantage" (Sloan 44). This quotation highlights how appealing physical books continue to be, even in a technologically advanced society. This quote is a reasoning of why books will never go away off the fact that they will always hold some value that electronic books don’t.

In conclusion, the novel has a lot of humor and clever writing including foreshadowing and writing that keeps the reader interested, Sloan uses a interesting plot with mystery and cliffhangers to keep the reader entertained. Only complaints about the book would be not being satisfied with the ending of the book which could upset some characters but for someone who likes to see character development it didn’t bother me at all. This book has a different take on things as it takes place in the 21st century as most books don’t have technology unless it’s futuristic, it’s good to read a book where you can relate and get a better understanding of what you are reading.