Mr. penumbra's 24-hour bookstore - robin sloan

The New York Times Bestseller A Winner of the Alex Award, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction, named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Los Angeles Times , and San Francisco Chronicle The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr.

Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore.

But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest.

The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything--instead, they check out large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store.

Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clienteles behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends.

But when they bring their findings to Mr.

Penumbra, they discover the bookstores secrets extend far beyond its walls.

Rendered with irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloans Mr.

Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave.