A review by jazzyjan94
Sourdough by Robin Sloan
4.0
This review appears on my blog: https://confessionsofabookwormweb.wordpress.com/2018/12/17/book-review-sourdough-by-robin-sloan/
I had been intrigued by this book when I heard several BookTubers talk about the synopsis, especially since it is basically a book centered around the making of sourdough bread, as well as engineering. Needless to say I was very curious to check it out for myself.
Lois is an engineer who is so busy that she barely has time to eat proper food. However, one day she discovers a flyer for a local takeout restaurant that serves the best sourdough bread. But then the owners of the restaurant are forced to leave abruptly, however they leave part of their sourdough starter for Lois because they knew how much she loved it. She then embarks on journey of caring for the starter, which is no ordinary starter either, learning how to bake sourdough bread and eventually trying to get a stall in some of San Francisco’s farmer’s markets. After being rejected by the majority of the farmer’s markets, she gets an invitation to a mysterious underground farmer’s market where each of the stalls incorporate some form of science into the making of their products.
This book does not get the readership that it deserves! I loved it, even though I was somewhat skeptical about what it would actually be about. However, Robin Sloan does a great job of drawing readers in and making them stay for the whole story. Once I read about how the sourdough starter was “singing” I was instantly hooked, and then there was the whole section dealing with Lois trying to get a robotic arm to make sourdough bread when the software for the arm was previously faulty.
One of the flaws of Sourdough is that there isn’t a whole lot of character development for Lois, except for the fact that she becomes a healthier person in general, and less stressed, but other than that she is still the same character at the end of the book as she was at the start. I did enjoy her relationship with the brothers who gave her the starter, especially with Beoreg and his encouragement for her to keep at it with the care of the starter, as well as her baking adventures. I really think that they would make a cute couple.
Another interesting aspect was this whole other people group – the Mazg – that the author created in order to properly explain the somewhat magical properties of the sourdough starter. There are even sections of the book where Beoreg emails Lois and tells her the story of the Mazg people in several snippets, and it was really fascinating to read and I would love it if there was a book all about the Mazg!
Overall, this book is perfect for readers who want something a little bit different from the typical slice of life book. If you are into baking or science or both, then you need to give this book a try. 4/5 Stars.
I had been intrigued by this book when I heard several BookTubers talk about the synopsis, especially since it is basically a book centered around the making of sourdough bread, as well as engineering. Needless to say I was very curious to check it out for myself.
Lois is an engineer who is so busy that she barely has time to eat proper food. However, one day she discovers a flyer for a local takeout restaurant that serves the best sourdough bread. But then the owners of the restaurant are forced to leave abruptly, however they leave part of their sourdough starter for Lois because they knew how much she loved it. She then embarks on journey of caring for the starter, which is no ordinary starter either, learning how to bake sourdough bread and eventually trying to get a stall in some of San Francisco’s farmer’s markets. After being rejected by the majority of the farmer’s markets, she gets an invitation to a mysterious underground farmer’s market where each of the stalls incorporate some form of science into the making of their products.
This book does not get the readership that it deserves! I loved it, even though I was somewhat skeptical about what it would actually be about. However, Robin Sloan does a great job of drawing readers in and making them stay for the whole story. Once I read about how the sourdough starter was “singing” I was instantly hooked, and then there was the whole section dealing with Lois trying to get a robotic arm to make sourdough bread when the software for the arm was previously faulty.
One of the flaws of Sourdough is that there isn’t a whole lot of character development for Lois, except for the fact that she becomes a healthier person in general, and less stressed, but other than that she is still the same character at the end of the book as she was at the start. I did enjoy her relationship with the brothers who gave her the starter, especially with Beoreg and his encouragement for her to keep at it with the care of the starter, as well as her baking adventures. I really think that they would make a cute couple.
Another interesting aspect was this whole other people group – the Mazg – that the author created in order to properly explain the somewhat magical properties of the sourdough starter. There are even sections of the book where Beoreg emails Lois and tells her the story of the Mazg people in several snippets, and it was really fascinating to read and I would love it if there was a book all about the Mazg!
Overall, this book is perfect for readers who want something a little bit different from the typical slice of life book. If you are into baking or science or both, then you need to give this book a try. 4/5 Stars.