Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

A Novel

By: Robin Sloan

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life - mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore.

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone - and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead “checking out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he’s embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what’s going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.

With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the 21st century, evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or a young Umberto Eco, but with a unique and feisty sensibility that’s rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious listener, no matter the time of day.

©2012 Robin Sloan (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

A Wonderful Listen

Loved the story, and the performance. It is a great story melding old with new, with some geek flavors thrown in. just a fun listen.

Fantastic

Fantastic writing and great performance makes for a wonderful listen and experience. Overall one of the best books for it's genre.

Magical without actual magic

Since becoming an adult, it’s been hard to get that same feeling from Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. I get this feeling from here. A realistic but mystical way of combing the new age of technology with the nostalgia of being welcomed into an old bookstore. If you read American gods, you’ll love this.

Great story! Fun listen!

What did you love best about Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore?

I really enjoyed the story presented in this book. I thought it was so unique and original. I loved the mystery behind Mr. Penumbra's bookstore and learning, along with the main character, what was really going on.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, I was deeply intrigued by the plot and couldn't wait to get in the car and listen to more of the story on my drive to and from work.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When you finally realized what the main mystery was and how the code was broken.

Any additional comments?

If you want a fun, suspenseful, easy listen, I highly recommend this book. I'm really glad I downloaded it!

A great and enchanting story!

I love a good quirky book! This is a story of a unique bookstore and all the mysteries that it holds. I love the way the story weaves together the old days and technology to create a literary dance between the two. I don't want to reveal anything about the story because that would take the fun away from the reader. Suffice to say that its a magic ride that won't disappoint!

Entertainment at it’s best!

I wish there were more books like this! The story was great and very entertaining. At times it was laugh out loud funny. I felt comfortable listening to it with kids in the room and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

loved the geeky references, the relationships...

What made the experience of listening to Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore the most enjoyable?

First, the cracks about audio books are seriously funnier in this context. The geek references were exactly my cup of tea. The relationships felt like ones I have with people I know, so very authentic (I'm pretty sure I date the protagonist.) Google is a great hero but so are real human beings. The obsessions with books and mysteries are perfect for anyone who has ever wanted to find themselves in the middle of the stories of the jr high fantasy section.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Clay the protagonist is exactly the kind of person I love to hang around with. He's curious, creative and inescapablely optimistic. Failure is not the end, it just means to try something else. He's also goofy and a dreamer. Its his relationships with people that make his life work even our modern internet world.

What about Ari Fliakos’s performance did you like?

He had the right 20 something tone for Clay and his voices for other characters are done with the affect of letting you know these are the way Clay sees these people, not the people themselves. It a great rhythm to his reading and it goes by so fast. I immediately started listening to it again as soon as I was done the first time.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Mysterious cults, hacker girls and ILM special effects... All Clay thought he wanted was a job in an all night book store.

Any additional comments?

Delightful! Share this one with everyone you know.

Not bad

It's a decent listen. It's hard to be original, this is defnitely a fresh idea of a book.
The narrator is terrific.

Made me think critically about immortality

What did you love best about Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore?

Very exciting plot. Narrator did a very good job of leading us on a mini mystery

What did you like best about this story?

The descriptioin of some of the characters.

What about Ari Fliakos’s performance did you like?

Inviting voice

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were a few parts that made me laugh.

Any additional comments?

Good solid book, fun ride, unexpected ending!

5 Stars

Most awesome and delightful mystery adventure all in one fun I've had in too long! Love it!!!