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The Novel Hermit

daydreaming about books

Archives for August 2022

Reviews

REVIEW • The Vine Cutting Heist at Chateau l’etrange (The Suitcase Clone by Robin Sloan)

August 16, 2022 Leave a Comment

The Suitcase Clone by Robin Sloan • August 2, 2022 • MCD

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books 

At last, the story that definitively bridges the world of Sourdough to that of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. It’s all one Penumbraverse.

James Bascule is adrift. College beckons—but not quite strongly enough to actually get him to campus. A trip to Europe showed him a world bigger than his Northern California upbringing—and yet, one broken heart later, Northern California is where he’s returned. Back to his old bedroom, paying his bemused parents rent with his new hobby, baking bread with the sourdough starter that is his only souvenir of what was apparently just a summer fling.

The future is being built an hour or two down the highway—it’s 1985; the twenty-first century is just around the corner!—but that’s not his world either. While sitting in a Sonoma County bar, indulging in a little aimless day drinking with a junior college acquaintance, he meets a man. A man with . . . something like a plan. Has James ever heard of a “suitcase clone”? It’s a cutting of a vine used to clone and propagate noteworthy grapes—say, from a legendary European vineyard to an upstart Napa Valley operation. This man has an operation. He has a suitcase. He just needs an enterprising young accomplice up for an adventure.

myreview

First sentence: “There are many tables set tonight (and it is always night somewhere); think of them.”

Welcome back to the Penumbra universe. There was a mysterious hole-in-the-wall bookstore and a sourdough starter that formed faces in the bread, and now there’s grape vine cuttings that a mysterious gentleman wants from a legendary vineyard from France.

Set in the ’80s, The Suitcase Clone follows James Bascule—a young man from Northern California trying to figure out what to do with his life—meets a mysterious man in a bar in Sonoma County who tasks James to go to a legendary vineyard in France, steal a grape vine cutting, and bring it back to him.

The Suitcase Clone is story filled with appreciation for wine—specifically the grape vine cuttings that the title refers to. As someone who isn’t familiar with wine or the terminology that comes with it, I’ve learned a lot just by reading this novella. Take for instance the term “suitcase clone”—a “cutting of a vine used to clone and propagate noteworthy grapes”—I had no idea what that meant, but was intrigued that this novella centered around it and created a heist (of sorts) out of it.

You meet eclectic characters in the book—the mysterious Gregory Wolfram who tasks James with the mission, the synthesizer-playing Elettra Brixi who becomes James’s partner in this heist, and a few others you meet at the legendary Chateau l’etrange who are more than meets-the-eye. All of them contrast the simple James with their worldly knowledge and connections.

There’s something so captivating about Robin Sloan’s writing. I love the way he crafts his stories and the slightly bizarre magical realism elements he weaves into them, and in The Suitcase Clone, you can feel his appreciation for the subjects he writes about—bookstores, sourdough starters, and now grape vine cuttings and the wine world. It’s full of wonder that consistently leaves me in awe.

Should you read The Suitcase Clone? Absolutely. Think of it as a short story about a grape vine cutting heist with a bit of magical realism woven into it.

Holy Mother Cover

HOLY, MOTHER COVER! • HC vs PB: Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

August 10, 2022 Leave a Comment

holymothercover

Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.

I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?

Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe), and discuss cover changes.

(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)

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HC vs PB: Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

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Discussion

TOO MUCH TBR • August 2022

August 4, 2022 Leave a Comment


For those who do not know, Too Much TBR is a way to help me see which books I really need to read and tackle them. Is it effective? Perhaps. It helps a lot seeing a visual of the books on my TBR pile.

Let’s get down to it.

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Discussion

BOOKS IN HAND • What Books Customers Are Buying in July 2022

August 1, 2022 Leave a Comment

During the last week of February 2018, I pondered about what type of post to make for “Books in Hand.” At first, I planned to discuss all the books customers came in asking for or buying, but that’s a bit too much because everybody came in asking for different books, and I didn’t remember all of them. My boss showed me a way to check our store’s best selling books, and I found out what we sold a lot of!

And that’s what this post is—seeing the top selling books of June 2022!

FICTION

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About Me


I’m Cee. Lover of books + comics. Bookseller. Former teen witch.

The Novel Hermit is written by a daydreamer who loves books and want to share her love with everybody. You will find YA, comics, reviews, discussions, book cover love, and lots of adoration for books. What more can you ask for?

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Recent Posts

  • TOO MUCH TBR • November 2023
  • BOOKS IN HAND • What Customers Are Buying in October 2023
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Disclaimer

All of the books I review either have been purchased by me, borrowed from the library, and sent to me by the publisher (the latter of which I will note).

All the words and opinions in this blog are my own. I am not paid to write reviews. Synopsis are taken from either the back of the book or from Goodreads.com.

Any use and/or duplication of my material without permission from me (the author and owner of The Novel Hermit blog) is strictly prohibited.

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