Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Author : Robin Sloan
Title : Sourdough
Published : 2017
Publisher : Atlantic Books
Pages : 272
Genre : Contemporary / Magical realism

     Lois Clary is a software engineer. She codes all day and collapses at night into her sofa, her human contact limited to the two brothers who run the local takeaway from which she orders dinner every evening - that is until the brothers are forced out of business. But they have one last delivery for Lois: their culture, the sourdough starter used to bake their famous bread. She must keep it alive, feed it daily, play it music, and learn to bake with it. Lois is no baker, but soon, not only is she eating her own homemade, but she's initiated into a fantastical and possibly fantastically sinister underground world: a secret market that aims to fuse home-cooked food with cutting-edge technology...

     This book would not be my first choice in reading. While I have dabbled in the genre from time to time they have been few and far between. For me, it seems like a hard thing to get right, I have either loved them or given up after a few chapters. But when it came to this book it also had a little thing that gave it an edge that pushed me into reading it. Food, or more specifically baking, It is one of my other great loves in life. There is some form of magic that takes over in the process of making bread. Taking a few simple ingredients an creating something that can keep you alive indefinitely. Sourdough is one of those things that I find fascinating a living breathing thing that requires you look after it but in return will forever keep giving. So how does this all tie in with the book?

     Lois is someone looking to start again, living a life that she doesn't enjoy but without purpose.  So when here favorite takeaway goes under she become the carer of the most prized possession. As she comes to realize the world of sourdough is a tight-knit community that is fiercely loyal and won't just let anyone go playing in their sandpit. The heroine given to us has this beautiful whimsical style to the way she tackles life. She delves into the world with everything she has and allows it to take her over. Going into every corner and mystery it can offer up. which to my surprise there is a great deal of to be discovered within these pages. That is where the more sinister elements start to make there way into the story. We meet Mr. Marrow and this is where that book starts to lift off from the ground and take on a whole new level.

     The way this author blends together different genres is something that feels quite unique. She takes what could have been a gentle book about a woman starting again through baking bread and elevates it to something more. With the blending of baking and science, we are stepping into the world of tomorrow. The mystery swirls you up into wanting to know a great deal more about what is taking place and keeps you bound up in Lois's life. With each chapter, we get bookend by emails from the brothers Beoreg and Chaiman who originally gave her the starter. The keep her on the right path and give her advice on how to move forward. For me, this book is kind of hard to pin down. Which is not to say that I didn't greatly enjoy it. Just that it takes on elements and themes that in the describing of them would spoil it for anyone choosing to pick it up. The book is overall a satisfying read and works as a great way to escape for an afternoon and escape your problems and the world at larger. 

     So if you are looking to escape and let your imagination float of downstream to a book that will leave you feeling happy and with a warm feeling inside grab yourself a copy and share in a story that will make you smile but also teach you a thing or two about the strange world of soughdough and just what one robotic arm can do.