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 13-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary: Why Do You Love Books so Much?
When Clay returns to Penumbra’s for his shift the following night, the store is closed with only a brief note, in Penumbra’s hand, stuck to the door: “Closed (Ad Libris)”(98). Clay feels anger, worry, and shame and considers these different reactions as he stands outside the store eating chips. He has not been there long before Rosemary Lapin appears and, for reasons unknown even to himself, he hides behind a trash can while she, in some distress, inspects Penumbra’s note. Clay then follows her home and knocks on her door. Nervously, she lets him into what he describes as “the burrow of a bibliophile hobbit” (101). Lapin declares she can’t tell Clay anything about where Penumbra may have gone so, in an effort to get her to talk, he shows her the visualization he made of the store. She is amazed and tells him that it must be the reason Penumbra left. Clay asks her to tell him what it’s all about and, though she is forbidden to speak of it she reveals that she is “a novice in a fellowship known as the Unbroken Spine. It is more than five hundred years old” (103). There are three orders in the fellowship: novices, the unbound, and the bound. In order to become unbound you have to solve the Founder’s Puzzle, which is what Clay did with his visualization. Lapin reveals that she was a computer programmer once, yet she never thought of using computers to solve the puzzle. Suddenly, there is a furious knocking at the door and Lapin lets Tyndall, another novice, in. Tyndall is in a state of great agitation because Penumbra has been “Called to the Library”(105) and he is certain that he won’t return, that he will, in fact, “be burned” (105). Clay is alarmed, but Tyndall clarifies that it is Penumbra’s book, not the man himself that will be burned. Clay then asks where the library is but neither of the novices knows; his fear for Penumbra grows, especially as he knows this situation is his fault and he is determined to help make it right. The next day, he and Oliver break into the store through the fire escape, and in Penumbra’s office they find a store of old computer equipment along with a picture of Penumbra with two other men, its caption reads: “Two novices and a great teacher/ Penumbra, Corvina, Al-Asmari” (111). Corvina is, Clay realizes, now Penumbra’s boss. Oliver then finds an Amtrak timetable and they discover that Penumbra is heading for Penn Station in New York City.
Chapter 14 Summary: Empires
Clay offers a recap of the situation as it stands and then outlines his plan of action. Oliver is going to use the fire escape to open the store for a few hours a day to keep the novices happy while Clay tries to intercept Penumbra in New York and set things right. He tells Kat everything and she persuades him that he won’t be able to talk Penumbra out of leaving the fellowship; he will need to be more strategic. Kat offers to accompany him under the pretense of visiting Google’s New York office. If Kat is his ally on this mission, then Clay needs to find a patron, and Neel Shah is the obvious choice. Clay pitches the idea to Neel as an epic fantasy quest, with Clay as the ranger, Kat as the wizard, and Neel as the warrior sidekick. Neel agrees. Kat then sets about trying to find the Library by searching for the Unbroken Spine’s symbol of two hands and an open book by sending the job to hundreds of real people using Mechanical Turk. Clay imagines that she is commanding a digital empire and they quickly find what they are looking for: the Library is on Fifth Avenue.
Chapter 13 – Chapter 14 Analysis
In the final two chapters of the novel’s first section, we learn more about the mysterious goings-on at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. Rosemary Lapin reveals the existence of an ancient fellowship—the Unbroken Spine—that has existed for as long as the printed book. Their antiquity is emphasized by the violence of their punishments: another novice of the fellowship, Tyndall, reveals that the Unbroken Spine burns the books of those members who don’t obey the rules. This description of the fellowship also serves to reinforce the sense that books are the source of archaic and secret knowledge. Furthermore, the revelation that Lapin used to be a computer programmer once again juxtaposes books and technology, this time to suggest that by adhering to the perceived separation of books and technology, Lapin has missed an opportunity to use her skills as a programmer to solve the Founder’s puzzle. Clay’s discovery of Penumbra’s stash of old computer equipment once again suggests his interest in and willingness to use new technology, distinguishing him from other members of the Unbroken Spine such as Corvina and Eric.
When he tries to persuade Neel to help him find Penumbra, Clay frames his request in the language of fantasy, outlining his objective as an epic quest in which Neel will play the role of warrior. Interestingly, Clay positions himself as the rogue of the party. While the word “rogue” has a number of negative connotations, including dishonesty and unpredictability, in role-playing context Clay invokes, a rogue is a versatile and skillful character, capable of seeing things others can’t and sneaking up on enemies. At the same time, the quest framework he uses acknowledges that he will need the help of others whose skills complement his own. This acknowledgement of the need for and usefulness of cooperation is extended when Kat uses her knowledge of internet networks and programs to delegate the task of locating the Unbroken Spine’s library.
