One theme that can be found in Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, is that technology is powerful. For example, when Clay was able to solve the Founder's Puzzle, he used the technology of his laptop to aid him in his research. He created a program for the bookstore and was able to solve the puzzle just by creating this program. The Founder's Puzzle has taken most people many years filled with endless decoding and reading, however Clay was able to solve it in a matter of a few days with the help of his computer. Without his computer, Clay may never have even figured out what the Founder's Puzzle was, so his laptop was definitely an essential component towards the plot of the story.
I really enjoyed the humor throughout the novel. The book was very peculiar and unexpected and that was very enjoyable to me. There were a lot of random twists and turns, new barriers and conflicts that must be solved throughout the story. It was like an obstacle course, a new problem arising every time you solve one. I liked how the book was on a topic that's very unique. I have never read another book that had a similar plot to that of this one. This involved an old bookstore combining with the latest technologies of Google itself. I also enjoyed how the author was able to make me laugh at a characters silly remarks throughout the story.
However, there were a few negative qualities about the story. Some of the time, the book felt like there was no purpose. Every time a conflict was discovered, the solution would be very simple and not too exciting. I was reading and the author would mention a secret organization of bibliophiles, however that didn't seem very significant. These book lovers were searching for the key to immortality, however the main character, Clay Jannon, says that he knows there really isn't any chance of immortality. It was slightly contradicting and when the conflict was finally solved, the solution was very minor. It was something simple, and led the reader to believe that there was going to be a grand finale or major solution in the end. It was not really as exciting as it could've been.
My article is a book review and summary of the novel Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. It describes the book thoroughly without giving away any spoilers. I would say it is very well-written.
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In your post you said you liked the humor throughout the book so would you say the genre was comedy? Or what would you say the genre was? Also who do you think would find this novel enjoyable? Looking at your post it looks as if you didn't really like the idea of the novel but you liked the connection between new technology and old bookstore and the style of his writing (by the twists and "obstacles"). This makes me wonder would you read another one of Sloan's novel or not?
ReplyDeleteHi Cristina!
DeleteNo, I wouldn't say that this genre is humor, however there is a lot of humor incorporated into the book. I think that this novel would be categorized under more of a science fiction genre or possibly even fantasy. I think people who could understand the slight humor would enjoy this book the most, as well as people who enjoy to read about technology, as this novel is practically based off of modern technology being used to uncover secrets of the past. I don't think I'm going to pick up another one of Sloan's books as of now; I want to expand the range of books I read. I would prefer to pick up another book by Sloan in the future however! He is a skilled writer and I would recommend reading a book by him :)