47 pages • 1 hour read
Robin Sloan, Rodrigo CorralMr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary: The Dragon-Song Chronicles, Volume I
The following night, Clay’s oldest friend, Neel Shah, visits the store. While Neel was unpopular in high school, he has since become a very successful businessman with his own company. The two friends are still connected by their love of The Dragon-Song Chronicles and Rockets and Warlocks, a reference to Dungeons and Dragons style role-playing games. Clay tells Neel about the strange encrypted book in the Waybacklist and the two agree that Neel should attempt to buy his way into the “club” and figure out what’s going on. Clay approaches Penumbra about the matter but Penumbra tells him that “it is not a matter of purchase…but rather of intention” (37). Thinking that the “friend” Clay tells him is interested in the Waybacklist is, in fact, Clay himself, Penumbra notes that these books can be rewarding, but only to those who “read deeply” (37). At Penumbra’s prompting Clay admits that he has looked at the books and is surprised by the old man’s amused reaction. At the same time, he realizes from Penumbra’s comments that Neel is not a suitable candidate to join whatever strange club operates out of the store.
Chapter 5 Summary: Stranger in a Strange Land
As nights at the bookstore grow quieter, Clay resorts to reading his Kindle and browsing social media. His favorite site is run by Grumble, “a secretive programmer who operates at the intersection of literature and code” (40). Inspired by Grumble’s latest project—“a map of the locations of every science fiction story published in the twentieth century” (41)—Clay decides to create a 3-D model of Penumbra’s store to pass the time. Clay is just about to upload the store’s database to his laptop when a new customer arrives and, unusually, he can’t tell whether it’s a Waybacklister or a normal customer. The man is outraged at the sight of the used books at the front of the store and at Clay’s computer model and tells Clay that he “doesn’t have any idea who really does run this store” (43). Handing Clay a book wrapped in brown paper, he tells him to hand it directly to Penumbra’s hands rather than leave it on a shelf. As he is leaving, he turns and says: “And tell your boss Corvina sends his regards” (44). Shaken by this strange visit, Clay bombards Penumbra with what happened the next morning. However, Penumbra is delighted by the parcel, which turns out to be a new book for the Waybacklist and insists they celebrate with a glass of scotch. Clay is disturbed by this event, as it means that whatever is happening at the bookstore is bigger than Penumbra’s own eccentricity. While the two of them record the event in the logbook, Penumbra explains that the bookstore “is also a kind of library, one of many around the world” (46) and that they are all overseen by Corvina.
Chapter 6 Summary: The Prototype
The next day, Clay asks Oliver whether he’s ever received a new book for the Waybacklist, but he hasn’t. Clay’s mind is abuzz with theories, including the possibility that Oliver is working as a spy for Corvina. He flicks through the logbook looking for clues to no avail. Finally, he resumes work on his 3-D model to keep himself occupied. Stumped by a problem with the code, he is pleasantly interrupted by a young woman, the first, and possibly only, person tempted into the store by Clay’s marketing campaign. It is not the books that focus her attention, however, but Clay’s model. It turns out that Kat works for Google doing data visualization and quickly fixes the issue with Clay’s program. She is interested in Clay’s project and gives him her email address. Later, Clay emails her and asks her out to lunch and then implements her suggested changes to his model. Tracking the books borrowed from the Waybacklist over time, he notices a pattern emerging: it’s like they’re all “solving the same puzzle” (56). At that moment Imbert, a Waybacklist customer, arrives and using his model, Clay can predict which book he will ask for. Recording the transaction in the logbook, Clay writes: “Strange things are afoot at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” (57).
Chapter 4 – Chapter 6 Analysis
Neel’s visit to the store allows Clay to elaborate on his relationship with Clark Moffat’s The Dragon-Song Chronicles, the books he chooses when Penumbra asks him to name a book he loves. Neel and Clay’s friendship sprang out of their shared interest in the books and Rockets and Warlocks, a Dungeons & Dragons style role-playing game. References to the fantasy genre represented by The Dragon-Song Chronicles and Rockets and Warlocks throughout the novel suggest the degree to which our actions are shaped by our knowledge of narrative conventions. Neel suggests that Clay’s discovery of the encrypted books is like the beginning of Moffat’s books: “That’s always how it starts!” (35). By framing it in terms of the fantasy adventure story, he is suggesting that there is an adventure to be pursued and that he and Clay should attempt to solve the mystery of the Waybacklist, becoming the heroes of their own story.
When Clay approaches Penumbra about the possibility of Neel gaining access to the Waybacklist he doesn’t use the framework of fantasy, suggesting that genre operates as a kind of language: some people can speak and understand it, others can’t. However, Penumbra encourages Clay’s interest in the Waybacklist and is even a little pleased that he has broken the first rule of his clerkship. Curiosity is considered a positive thing and Penumbra seems to encourage Clay to join those who “read deeply” (37). Here, the positive value of curiosity is joined with the need to pay close attention in a way that seems to respond to Clay’s question, posed earlier in the novel, about what might be “hiding in plain sight” (32).
Clay’s references to the anonymous hacker, Grumble, points to the way in which the point of “intersection between literature and code” (40) is a shadowy place in a world that considers those two things to be distinct, rather than overlapping. Clay’s interest in that intersection is signaled by his decision to emulate Grumble and build a 3-D model of the bookstore. In this regard, he is distinguished from two of the store’s visitors: Eric and Kat. Eric’s antagonistic behavior increases Clay’s suspicion that something strange is happening at the bookstore, and Eric is made particularly angry by Clay’s 3-D model. He accuses him of interfering in things he doesn’t understand. Kat, on the other hand, is intrigued by Clay’s project and is easily distracted from the bookshelves to discuss digital visualization with Clay. While Eric represents someone who is interested in maintaining the “purity” of the bookstore and its function, Kat is much more interested in technology than in books. Clay and Penumbra—who dismisses Eric’s fury—fall somewhere in between. The exciting possibilities offered by the conjunction of books and technology are suggested by the pattern Clay sees emerging in his updated model of the store.
