Weekend Read #012 - SOURDOUGH by Robin Sloan
If you’re looking for your version of THE BEAR, this is it.
Hello again!
SOURDOUGH is my personal testimony of when judging a book by its cover works out. I picked this up at Barnes and Noble around the time when it was published in August 2017, and it’s still one of my favorite books to this day. Between the vibrant setting, the colorful cast of characters, and the very relatable journey of self-discovery and overcoming burnout, SOURDOUGH has something for everyone stuck in the modern world.
“I needed a more interesting life. I could start by learning something. I could start with the starter.”
Here is the official synopsis:
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?
SOURDOUGH is currently available for film and TV and is represented by Jason Richman at UTA. Robin Sloan entered the mainstream literary scene in 2012 with his novel MR. PENUMBRA’S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE, which won and was nominated for multiple awards (and also almost gave me a heart attack once because I didn’t realize the cover glowed in the dark until I left it out one night). Sloan also works in the food manufacturing industry as an olive oil producer.
“Greatest among us are those who can deploy “my friend” to total strangers in a way that is not hollow, but somehow real and deeply felt; those who can make you, within seconds of first contact, believe it.”
I think this book hits a lot of culturally relevant notes right now. It talks about the complicated relationship between people and technology, the worlds that open up when we find a hobby and join a community, and the complex ecosystems of food and dining - all from an amateur’s perspective. Everything the main characters do is approachable and attainable, and I think that’s very refreshing! It’s almost something you could follow along with at home.
Also - it’s just plain funny! It’s got a little SILICON VALLEY, obviously at lot of THE BEAR, and I would even venture to say some of the latter-day BOB’S BURGERS. It’s truly the perfect blend of humor with relevant social commentary.
It also inspired me to make my own sourdough starter and I still bake with it all the time! And most of the recipes turn out halfway decent! Not all of them!!
All best,
TIP
See you next time!