Book Review: Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Bottom Line: A clever, witty book that made me laugh out loud several times.

Amazon kept recommending this book to me, and I gave in and bought it for my Kindle. I  am so happy that I did. Sloan does a great job of marrying old-school table-top adventure gaming with Google, modern culture, and ancient secret societies.

The plot centers around unemployed graphic artist Clay Jannon who finds a job in a strange 24-hour bookstore that doesn't seem to sell books. Instead an interesting assortment of people come in a check out books from a three-story stack of strange tomes named for people. Clay's job is to keep a log book of each borrowing that includes details about the person's appearance and behavior. While Clay is wondering what's going on, he is simultaneously living with his roommate Mat's growing art project and his own interest in a woman named Kat Potente who works for Google.

The book is part mystery, part allegory for role playing games, part lesson in teamwork, and part examination of contemporary culture. If that sounds ponderous, don't worry. Sloan's writing is joyous to read. The book is lighthearted with lots of really funny moments in Clay's internal monologue. In one instance, Clay tries to boost sales in the shop by putting out a Google ad. When the mysterious Kat Potente appears in response to the ad, Clay almost blows the moment by hyper-responding. He thinks, "Google's astonishing advertising algorithms have delivered to me a supercute girl, and I have no idea what to do with her." Alliterative heaven right there.

Sloan's characters all come together for an adventure of their own, mirroring the world of D&D or Dragon Age. During the first half of the book I wanted to live in Clay's world and by the end, I realized that I already did. Even if these particular characters and conflicts are fictional, the lessons learned by Clay and company are the same that we all have to learn.

This is no Harry Potter with real wizards and quidditch. Instead it is a related story with many of the same themes of friendship, teamwork, bravery, and good choices. It is also a rare book that I and my 21-year-old son can both enjoy.