Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Dear Bookworms,

Being an extreme bibliophile, I not only enjoy reading good books, but also have a special affinity for good books about books. It was my enjoyment of this overly-specific genre that led me to Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, a delightful book about books, or in this case, bookstores.

Written from the first person perspective of Clay Jannon, a young man who stumbles upon the bookshop and begins to uncover the secrets within its shelves, Mr. Penumbra’s celebrates some of the great joys of reading: discovering the mysteries hidden within books and sharing that journey with others.

Clay is a very relatable character who finds himself caught, as all 20-somethings do, in a changing world and forced to figure out where he stands, with the old ideas or with the new. As narrator, Clay is a reliable relator of events as they happen, but he is also a dimensional character within the story, describing everything through his unique perspective. Several times Clay likens the events and characters in the book to a video game experience. Although I’ve had no involvement with such games myself, I found these descriptions to be very understandable and enhancing to the story. I also felt that in doing so, Sloan gave definition to Clay as a character and provided consistency of voice to the novel as a whole.

For me, the only disconcerting element to the style of writing was the occasional tendency to end Clay’s inner monologues with another character responding to his thoughts. This left me slightly confused and conjecturing about how much was implied as dialogue or if Clay, as a character, was even aware he had spoken aloud. Overall, however, a minor element in an otherwise enjoyable read.

Ultimately bookworms, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is a very intriguing story that takes the reader on an adventure of mystery, intellect and camaraderie, all the while managing to do what few writers really do well: be thoroughly unpredictable. It also brings up many interesting themes and ideas along the way, offering a lot of material for discussion.

Have any of you read this title? I’d love to hear what you think of it! Leave your comments below!

P.S. The format of this book is enjoyable as well. The yellow book spines on the cover actually glow in the dark if exposed to enough light first. Very fitting packaging for this whimsical story.

Keep Reading!

Live, Love, Learn,

Elise and The Write Teachers