emcmahon's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
fish_reads's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
mpchiz's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
oawagner17's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
wanderaven's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't read [b:Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore|13538873|Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, #1)|Robin Sloan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1345089845s/13538873.jpg|6736543] (from which you've likely heard of Sloan) yet, but I can guarantee you, I will now!
When Macmillan offered Sourdough for early review, the synopsis was too strange and intriguing to pass up... and the novel certainly fulfills those expectations.
A young woman, newly transplanted from Michigan to a massive tech company in San Francisco doesn't have the time (or possibly the nerve) to make new friends, and subsists on Slurry, the fictional version of Soylent. When she receives a delivery menu for a strange and unknown group, she becomes obsessed with their incredible bread and soup, eating it every night. When the two immigrant brothers, who have been making the food illegally in their apartment, have to leave the country, they leave their sourdough starter with her.
"Vietnamese pho's healing powers, physical and psychic, make traditional chicken noodle soup seem like dishwater... then this spicy soup, in turn, dishwatered pho. It was an elixir. The sandwich was spicier still, thin-sliced vegetables slathered with a fluorescent red sauce, the burn buffered by thick slabs of bread artfully toasted."
The novel is a lovely blend of humor, food, technology, and magical realism. One can consider it magical realism, anyway, pretty much right up until the last couple of chapters. Then, it all bleeds a little bit. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed by the ending but certainly not enough to regret the rest of the reading, and I'm not really sure of how else he might have ended it, anyway.
"Here's the thing I believe about people my age: we are the children of Hogwarts, and more than anything, we just want to be sorted."
"Two men stopped to assess the Vitruvian. It was a pair of the cold-eyed wraiths I worked with at General Dexterity. I knew them by their sneakers.
'Oh, sweet,' hooted one. 'Didn't expect to see a V3 here.'
'Look at that beast,' said the other.
'It's so clunky, dude! The old motors were super slow.'
'Actually,' I said - oh, it felt good - 'the Vitruvian 3's motors are exactly the same as the V4's. They're all PKD 2891s. It's just that the V4's chassis is lighter.'
The wraiths noticed me for the first time. 'Wait,' said the first. 'I know you, right? You're... one of our marketing people?'
My face burned hot, but through force of will, I cooled my gaze to absolute zero kelvin. 'Actually.' It felt very good. 'I work on Control.'
The wraiths pulled knives from their waistbands and committed ritual suicide.
Actually, they backed slowly away, and I never saw them again."
When Macmillan offered Sourdough for early review, the synopsis was too strange and intriguing to pass up... and the novel certainly fulfills those expectations.
A young woman, newly transplanted from Michigan to a massive tech company in San Francisco doesn't have the time (or possibly the nerve) to make new friends, and subsists on Slurry, the fictional version of Soylent. When she receives a delivery menu for a strange and unknown group, she becomes obsessed with their incredible bread and soup, eating it every night. When the two immigrant brothers, who have been making the food illegally in their apartment, have to leave the country, they leave their sourdough starter with her.
"Vietnamese pho's healing powers, physical and psychic, make traditional chicken noodle soup seem like dishwater... then this spicy soup, in turn, dishwatered pho. It was an elixir. The sandwich was spicier still, thin-sliced vegetables slathered with a fluorescent red sauce, the burn buffered by thick slabs of bread artfully toasted."
The novel is a lovely blend of humor, food, technology, and magical realism. One can consider it magical realism, anyway, pretty much right up until the last couple of chapters. Then, it all bleeds a little bit. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed by the ending but certainly not enough to regret the rest of the reading, and I'm not really sure of how else he might have ended it, anyway.
"Here's the thing I believe about people my age: we are the children of Hogwarts, and more than anything, we just want to be sorted."
"Two men stopped to assess the Vitruvian. It was a pair of the cold-eyed wraiths I worked with at General Dexterity. I knew them by their sneakers.
'Oh, sweet,' hooted one. 'Didn't expect to see a V3 here.'
'Look at that beast,' said the other.
'It's so clunky, dude! The old motors were super slow.'
'Actually,' I said - oh, it felt good - 'the Vitruvian 3's motors are exactly the same as the V4's. They're all PKD 2891s. It's just that the V4's chassis is lighter.'
The wraiths noticed me for the first time. 'Wait,' said the first. 'I know you, right? You're... one of our marketing people?'
My face burned hot, but through force of will, I cooled my gaze to absolute zero kelvin. 'Actually.' It felt very good. 'I work on Control.'
The wraiths pulled knives from their waistbands and committed ritual suicide.
Actually, they backed slowly away, and I never saw them again."
mmatti300's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I frankly have not stopped thinking about this book since I finished it and I flew through it. I started on the train to work and by the end of the day I was done. What a delightfully strange novel
booksandbobbins's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so fun! I absolutely loved Robin's writing style, I think I am learning about myself that I like descriptions but don't love super flowery long metaphors and analogys. Robin did this amazingly!
Similarly to other reviews, I kind of lost the plot (in more than one sense) towards the last third, but the first 2/3 were so good that it made up for it.
I'm excited to explore more of his body of work
Similarly to other reviews, I kind of lost the plot (in more than one sense) towards the last third, but the first 2/3 were so good that it made up for it.
I'm excited to explore more of his body of work
moonysplace's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
paulinagrf's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
achin8's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
As someone who grew up in San Francisco, this story perfectly touched on the tech industry and the foodie scene here and it is clear that Sloan has spent a lot of time in the Bay. Was this book life changing? definitely not but it was a fun quick read that had quirky and enjoyable characters. My only gripe as a bread baker myself is the oversimplification of baking sourdough but I was able to overlook it. If you're not from the Bay I can see this book being underwhelming for some people as part of the story's charm is the little references to Bay Area culture.