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Sourdough: A Novel Hardcover – September 5, 2017

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 5,371 ratings

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From Robin Sloan, the New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, comes Sourdough, "a perfect parable for our times" (San Francisco Magazine): a delicious and funny novel about an overworked and under-socialized software engineer discovering a calling and a community as a baker.

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Southern Living

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 quickly close up shop. 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 to the General Dexterity cafeteria every day. Then the company chef urges her to take her product to the farmer’s market―and a whole new world opens up.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of September 2017: Bread is life as the saying goes, and it certainly is life-changing for software engineer-turned-baker, Lois Clary. As Robin Sloan’s latest novel opens, Lois gets a plum gig working at a tech company that specializes in robotics. The money is good, but the longer Lois stays in the role, the more she feels like the product she’s working on. Her only respite is a neighborhood takeout place she orders from each evening, run by two infinitely amiable brothers. When they are forced to flee the country due to visa issues, Lois is entrusted with something that jogs her from her dispassionate existence: a sourdough starter. Armed with this magical mixture of flour and water (it really is magic—it even sings!), Lois--whose fridge and gastronomic knowledge has heretofore been utterly barren—begins to bake. Applying herself earnestly and enthusiastically to the task, Lois finds that she excels at it, and soon she is foisting the fruits of her labor onto eager, gluten-tolerant co-workers, one of whom encourages her to hawk her wares at a local farmer’s market. The cutthroat committee rejects her, but Lois is quickly courted by a mysterious marketplace that ends up exploiting both her tech savvy, and culinary pluck. If all of this sounds a bit out there, it is. In the best way. And you’ll need to steel your suspension of disbelief for a stunner of an ending, of Stay Puft Marshmallow Man proportions. But Robin Sloan’s Sourdough is quite simply delightful. Its overarching message of the importance of pursuing a fulfilling, meaningful life is one you will loave. --Erin Kodicek, Amazon Book Review

From School Library Journal

Like Sloan's debut, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, this novel twists new and old worlds together. General Dexterity, a robotics company in San Francisco, burns out its bright young employees on 12-hour shifts and feeds them a gray sludge called Slurry. Enter Lois Clary, the company's new software engineer, fresh from Michigan, whose social life is at an all-time low. Alone each night, she cheers up when Beo, the takeout guy, delivers delicious, spicy soup from Clement Street Soup and Sourdough. He's nicknamed her "number one customer!" for her loyalty. But Beo and his brother, the cook, are in a hurry to leave the country, and one evening they deliver more than her order—they give her the family's starter for their sourdough bread and urge her to carry on their tradition. Lois enters the competitive foodie world of hip San Francisco with a recipe from long ago and the means to change her life. She also gets some help from the women of the Lois Club, who offer comic relief and some sage advice. Laced with clever pop culture references, this humorous, richly plotted novel features unforgettable characters and imparts an important lesson: you can't succeed in the modern world without respecting the old one. VERDICT Highly recommended for all YA collections.—Georgia Christgau, Middle College High School, Long Island City, NY

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MCD; First Edition (September 5, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374203105
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374203108
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL800L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.86 x 0.96 x 8.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 5,371 ratings

About the author

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Robin Sloan
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Robin Sloan is the author of the novels Sourdough and Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, published by MCD in the United States, Tokyo Sogensha in Japan, and others around the world. He splits his time between the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley. His next novel, Moonbound, will arrive in June 2024.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
5,371 global ratings
Light, Intelligent, and Magical.
5 Stars
Light, Intelligent, and Magical.
It’s amazing just how magical this book is considering it has no actual magic inside of it. Lois is such an easy heroine to root for and you want to see her succeed in her new quest in life. The sourdough is overflowing in personality with Sloan’s descriptions and felt like the second main character of the book with how it comes to life on page. Contains themes about seclusion, friendship, finding one’s own sense of success, and fostering new found skills. I bought the hardback version which is beautifully bound and has a textured slipcover and even had the classic open palms/book symbol from, Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, on the cover of the book itself. I’m gifting my paperback to a friend, to pass on the joy that this book gave me.
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2023
Robin Sloan is really good. He doesn't write enough books. I hope he changes this soon enough.

In a day & age where every NYT fiction best seller (and sone less than best sellers) travel down a journey of "woe is me here is my story," Sloan writes stories that are stories in & of themselves. Much like Frederick Backman, he writes fiction that is alive, that makes you feel good about yourself, and life in general. This is not to say that all of Sloan's works are without conflict in some way. But the stories are a capsule of why life is fun & interesting.

I read the Penumbra book almost 3 years ago, and bought this shortly after. I saved it for a long time for reasons I cannot quite put my finger on. I often do this, thinking that a book with these expectations is like a fine wine that should be opened on a special occasion. This was not a special occasion, I just felt it was time to revisit. And it lived up to that expectation.

Normally I am surprised at the Amazon rating system and that every hunk of trash printer is 4.5 or more stars. Oddly, this one is only 4 stars. I guess in the indulgent NYT-fiction world we live in, there isn't enough post-apocalyptic angst to sustain a year's worth of therapy sessions? I really don't know. This is a well-written, easy to relate to book about a quirky series of life choices. I am not talking about major life choices here (ok, the job thing can be). We're talking about baking bread.

I often find men who write female characters really off the mark, but that is not the case here. While not a woman, I can see where a narrative might be cringe-worth, which this is not. It's a journey, a fun journey, where you root for the protagonist from the first to the last page. I think it is worth mentioning that a good portion of books written these days have absolutely abysmal protagonists. How does this fly anymore? How can you read a book that has a main character that is a jerk?

Not the case here. The main character and everything around that character is nice, enjoyable. The story is also enjoyable. The last few chapters are quirky and out of left field, but totally in line with what you would expect of the author. I look forward to more works y Sloan, and will pick up the short works as I wait.

Great book, great author, looking forward to more.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2018
This is the second book I’ve read by Robin Sloan. I like his writing, his mixture of subjects, his characters and settings. This book is like eating a perfect sourdough toasted with artisanal butter and an espresso. It can go down quickly, but is worth savoring. One of my favorite things about reading is being introduced to new concepts, information and Mr. Sloan is masterful at introducing the reader to a variety things. This book touches on the following topics: technology, food, farmers markets, how to combine them, science, self discovery, friendship, mentorship and love. He keeps it light, and thus fun. He has a great recipe. I look forward to reading his next book.
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2018
Lois, a newly hired software programmer at a robotics company in San Francisco, is so consumed by her job that her diet devolves to nutritive gel favored by her work colleagues and soup and bread she orders from a delivery service. When the delivery company goes out of business the owners leave Lois, who they dubbed as their number one eater, with their sourdough starter and give her a brief lesson on how to make bread. Lois stumbles through it at first but her result is very good, and before you know it she is embarking on a small commercial production. Lois competes for a spot at The Ferry Building and instead gets involved with a food lab whose goal is to disrupt food production through the creative application of technology. As you might expect, there are some wayward characters and unusual ideas involved along the way.

The book started off as a fun adventure and there were some humorous aspects to the story. The ending was less than satisfying unfortunately and the whole book just left me flat. Cute premise but just didn't work for me. It was nice to have a woman as a central character not built around gender-based stereotypes.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2024
This book was addictive! I literally wanted to go out and start making sourdough bread. I wanted to go and buy the parts to make the Jay Steve oven. And then...
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2017
Lois, a recent transplant from Michigan to the Bay Area, works in the tech industry, and finds her life transformed when she orders delivered spicy soup and sourdough bread from two mysterious brothers. That is the basic story line, but as anyone familiar with Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore knows, he has more up his sleeve. Being familiar with the San Francisco landscape Lois inhabits, I was immediately charmed and delighted by the story, skewers pinning the "food as porn" (per Anthony Bourdain) culture, and in particular, one hilarious portrait of a self-satisfied doyen of the Berkeley food scene. I also loved the idea that there were Lois Clubs worldwide consisting of women whose only ticket to join was that they be named Lois (when she arrives, one Lois is surprised that they were "still making Loises.")

When the brothers find themselves having to leave precipitously, they present Lois with a gift, a rather high maintenance sourdough starter, tall order for someone who grew up on McDonalds Happy Meals. But the starter has a will of its own, and as it inspires her to learn to bake ethereal loaves, the story really takes off.

Top reviews from other countries

Dana
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable!
Reviewed in Canada on May 8, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. It had a hopeful feel to it, like all things are still possible if you have the will and open mind to embrace the prospects. The characters were also fun and colorful. I wish I worked with someone like Horace! We'd get along very well. Lois was quite interesting. i really enjoyed her character and how she developed into the strong and fearless person that she knew deep down was always inside her. Imaginative books with a 'what if' perspective always spark good vibes. I enjoyed this book as I did Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore. Looking forward to Robin Sloan's next book!
Manikarnika
5.0 out of 5 stars Like having sourdough and hot soup after a long day at work
Reviewed in India on September 29, 2021
Great read. The whole story has a really interesting vibe. White it’s set in the practical everyday world, there is a sense of otherworldliness lurking just around the corner. Loved the ending too. To me this book feels just like a bowl of hot soup and sourdough - wholesome, filling and tasty. Looking forward to new works by the author😍
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Mauricio S Jardini
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
Reviewed in Brazil on November 27, 2018
it's not about bread. it's about a war inside the dough starter. you will not be able to stop reading. Robin Sloan did it again
Alex
5.0 out of 5 stars If I could buy it again, I would!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2018
I first came across Robin Sloan when I read Mr Penumbra's Bookstore last years, then I read the prequel - Ajax Penumbra. Then when I found this was on promotion for 99p I was delighted.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. It had all the sass, all the beauty and all the vivid imagery of San Francisco. It had the encroachingly uncomfortable technology industry. It had the incomer protagonist who was incredibly relatable, like in Penumbra. It had some really clever devices to tie together all these people. Then it had the Mazg tribe who are a soulful group, always on the move and who are close to food and music and all the best things in life. It just made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

It's a clever book, it's an intelligent book, it was just totally magnificent. If I could buy it again on Kindle I would. It's worth the full price £4.99, probably more. If I could buy it again I would.

What am I on?

Sourdough, obviously.
2 people found this helpful
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Jenia
4.0 out of 5 stars Short, charming, hopeful book!
Reviewed in Germany on July 24, 2018
Robin Sloan’s Sourdough is a short, charming book that’s just the sort of thing to cheer you up on a bad day.

Lois is a software engineer who’s recently moved to San Francisco to work in a high-end, high-tech robotics company. The lifestyle the company demands of her is stressful and the only thing that keeps Lois sane is her favourite sandwich shop. Then the owners run into visa problems and the shop closes up. But before the owners leave, they give her their starter to make her own delicious sourdough bread (a starter being the combo of flour, water, and wild yeast; you use small bits of it to “start” making bread). As Lois slowly switches her attention to baking, she realises there’s a lot more to her starter than meets the eye…

This book is a cross between magic realism, low-key sci-fi, and slice-of-life. There’s a mystery to the sourdough (for one, upon baking the dough a face is formed on the crust of the bread). There’s a mystery to the shop owners’ culture (the ever-wandering Mazg). And there’s a mystery to the underground farmer’s market that Lois becomes involved in (who are heavily involved in technologically-augmented food).

But at the heart of it all is just Lois, fresh out of college, overwhelmed and craving that tiny bit of old-fashioned in her hyper modern life. Sourdough definitely has some interesting things to say about the (perhaps inevitable?) combination of food and technology. But it’s the connection to something traditional that stuck out to me. Maybe because it’s something that’s helped me too, although I picked up crocheting instead. Lois’ discovery of a whole new “subculture” revolving around baking reminded me of finding about “Stitch ‘n’ Bitch” knitting/crocheting meet-ups, and her feelings of satisfaction at producing something tangible echoed my own. The book ended up feeling almost painfully real for me. (This also really helps ground the pretty crazy “slightly shady, intense, sci-fi farmer’s market” plot.)

Altogether, whether you’ve ever felt the urge to pick up an old-fashioned craft or not, Sourdough is a book I’d recommend to anyone who just wants to read something quiet and hopeful.