Genre: Fiction
Published: 2012, Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
When Clay Jannon loses his job as a web designer due to the recession, he stumbles across a display window with a "Hiring" sign hanging in it. He lands a job at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, and his set-up is pretty nice; hardly anyone comes into the store except a few strange regulars, and books very rarely get purchased. Instead, these odd patrons check out seemingly unreadable tomes and return them a few days later. Clay begins to piece the bookstore's quirks together, and it leads him on a surprising journey.
I gave this book a rating of 3.25 stars because I felt positively neutral about it, if that makes any sense at all. I enjoyed it an average amount, but I liked it enough to give it a slightly higher than average rating. Sounds logical, right? Sure.
A lot of people really enjoy this book - especially a lot of book lovers. I, of course, am a book lover, but there was something about the story that just didn't click with me. I'm not sure if I ever truly connected with the characters. Clay was okay but kind of uninteresting. Kat, the sort-of love interest, was mildly irritating and one-sided. Neel, Clay's best friend, was my favorite character. The plot is slow, even though this isn't a long novel, and I felt like I never got super into it. The best word I can think of to describe my reading experience is "detached."
The mystery aspect of this book was pretty cool. If you're into technology, secret codes, or the history of book printing, you'd probably enjoy this. Honestly, I don't have much to say about this book; it didn't evoke a substantial response from me, positive or negative, so take that how you want. It's not a book that I would readily recommend to a lot of people. If it intrigues you, definitely go for it. The cover glows in the dark, which has nothing to do with the quality of the content, but it's neat anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment