Review of Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Hello Readers,

Robin Sloans writing is so readable and creative. I was thrilled to discover that he was writing a new book and that it was releasing this year. However when I first read the description of Sourdough I was a little unsure. It sounded a little out there for me but Robin Sloan is one of those authors that I will read no matter what he writes because my love for his first book Mr Penumbras 24 Hour Book Store is strong. I took this book with me on my recent vacation and was able to read it on the plane ride and focus on it while flying with a toddler. I think that automatically makes it a great book. 

Here is the Amazon description so you can get a better feel for this bread inspired book.

“In his much-anticipated new novel, Robin Sloan does for the world of food what he did for the world of books in Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Lois Clary is a software engineer at General Dexterity, a San Francisco robotics company with world-changing ambitions. She codes all day and collapses at night, her human contact limited to the two brothers who run the neighborhood hole-in-the-wall from which she orders dinner every evening. Then, disaster! Visa issues. The brothers close up shop, and fast. But they have one last delivery for Lois: their culture, the sourdough starter used to bake their bread. She must keep it alive, they tell her―feed it daily, play it music, and learn to bake with it.

Lois is no baker, but she could use a roommate, even if it is a needy colony of microorganisms. Soon, not only is she eating her own homemade bread, she’s providing loaves daily to the General Dexterity cafeteria. The company chef urges her to take her product to the farmer’s market, and a whole new world opens up.

When Lois comes before the jury that decides who sells what at Bay Area markets, she encounters a close-knit club with no appetite for new members. But then, an alternative emerges: a secret market that aims to fuse food and technology. But who are these people, exactly?

Leavened by the same infectious intelligence that made Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore such a sensation, while taking on even more satisfying challenges, Sourdough marks the triumphant return of a unique and beloved young writer.”

This book is so unique because it combines a real life story with scifi realism in such a seamless way. I realize I am completely making up the concept of scifi realism but it seems like the only way to adequately explain this book. There wasn't a section of this book that I thought, oh boy he took this concept of a sourdough bread starter too far. Sloan took me down a road where I truly believed in the sourdough starter and all of its capabilities. I loved learning about the intense underworld of Farmers markets in big cities. It was so fascinating to see how the right location at the farmers market could make or break a business. I think a book about underground farmers markets is absolutely necessary because I had no idea there were so many politics behind the big time farmers markets. I would love to know how Sloan came up with the concept for this book. Its just out there enough that it totally fascinates me how he came up with it. 

I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy foodie books, scifi books set in real life AKA scifi realism, or for people who enjoy a fun readable book. 

I was thrilled to see this book listed as one of The Book of the Month books for September. I am so happy to see this book get lots of exposure because I just adored it. 

Favorite Quotes

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“Here’s a thing I believe about people my age: we are the children of Hogwarts, and more than anything, we just want to be sorted.” Page 5

“Repetition was the enemy of creativity, he said. Repetition belonged to robots. We were on a quest to end work. And it would involve: a shit ton of work.” Page 7

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Overall Rating - 4/5 Stars

Thank you to Straus and Giroux Farrar Publishing for supplying me with an advance reading copy of Sourdough by Robin Sloan. I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Sourdough

Author: Robin Sloan

Release Date: September 5, 2017

Publisher: Straus and Giroux Farrar Publishing

ISBN-10: 0374203105

ISBN-13: 978-0374203108

Happy Reading,

Rachael