Thoughts & Review on- Sourdough by Robin Sloan
Thoughts & Review on- Sourdough by Robin Sloan
I want to stop writing now, go home and bake something. Anything cake, bread, cookie, pie. But bake, because as cliche as it may sound baking is theraupatic.
And sourdough is a step up. If baking bread with yeast is therapeutic, then baking with a starter is nirvana, its a demanding relationship between the starter & the baker but albeit a very fulfilling one.
After completing reading this book, i went off for lunch in cafeteria. The fragrant cooked spices coated my finger tips, as i dipped tiny pieces of roti into the "aloo-mutter" gravy. I couldn't help but think, about it origins, about how perfectly mix of spices brought together and produced a perfect blend to satisfy our taste buds. These thoughts were purely originated thanks to the book- Sourdough by Robin Sloan.
I picked up this book to read on a whim, when i saw its interesting cover on Reddit.com. The title itself appealed me to read.
The book begins with a programmer named Lois, who sets out for san Francisco to take up a new job in a company called General Dexeterity who specializes in new age robot arms to help in day to day tasks. Lois's life is mundane, its surrounded by meager approachable colleagues.
In a futuristic & a bit dystopian view of her work life, her work cafeteria offers a nutritious thick green shake effectively called- Slurry. Slurry is savored by all programmers including Lois. As luck might have it, one day Lois finds a flyer where a restaurant named -Clement street soup & sourdough which offered home delivery for spicy soup and sourdough bread.
The restaurant is heralded by two brothers-Beo & Chaiman, Lois begins to like this simple fare offered by the restaurant and becomes quite a regular. An unexpected event of visa issues makes the brothers leave the town and one of the brothers gifts Lois a starter to bake sourdough bread.
Lois, intrigued by the fact that this is the starter which fueled her daily dinner tries to bake one . The first bread baked by Lois, is a messy affair but invariably she becomes quite an expert on it. She consults books, studiously builds up an oven in the back yard and becomes quite a hit with her work-in house cafeteria Chef- Kate.
The sourdough bread, has this unique quality of a smiling face carved on the bread. Encouraged by Chef Kate, Lois decides to present her sourdough bread at the prestigious local farmer's market.
Her sourdough bread creation is rejected by jury members, but she is offered a place on a another off beat farmer market known as Marrow Fair in Alameda.
What greets her is a futuristic market, where food scientists, are creating new types of food inspired from traditional food. The food market which is not open to the public yet, is placed on a abandoned naval base, where it houses a weird, yet an amiable genius "microbe whisperer" who makes cheese, there is a baker who bakes cookies out of cricket flour, a microbiologist named Dr.Jaina Mitra who is working on a creating a new super food named "Lembas", an espresso barista master "Naz", Horace a curator of books related to food and to lead them all-Lily Belasco.
The book then oscillates between Lois & Beorzeg mails and Lois journey into the labyrinth of the Alameda fair. She gets further involved with the mysterious starter she is handed with. And invariably she also gets to close to other clan members of Marrow Fair.
This story moves forward with the origin of the starter and the tryst of Lois & her robotic arm to bake the perfect sourdough bread.
The ending of this novel is like an science fiction novel. On a deeper note, the story explores greed and its devastating effect of it. It explores the future of food and the intricate science of microbes, bacteria, new discoveries and reinventions of food . Robin Sloan makes a terrific job of writing & breaking down the microbes and organisms for us.
At times, the writing does get a bit technical and difficult to follow, but the story never loses it grip. It invariably studies human behavior and our relationship with our life saver- bread. It perhaps questions & provokes us about our basic need of food & evolution of food.
It also perhaps makes us think and ponder on where our grains, cheese, etc come from. The whole chain from a farmer's land to a retail shop. In the end, when Lois finally takes a decision on what to do with her starter, I was strangely reminded of Frodo in Lord of the rings.
Robin Sloan does a fine job of narrating of a Sourdough's starter's mystical journey and story. We are instantly drawn into Lois's life and her enthusiasm for the sourdough bread. The events, the description of the Alameda's Farmer's market doesn't sound far fetched at all and Robin Sloan has done a thorough research to indulge in the near science fiction story.
Although at times, the jargon and etymology of microbes, bacteria gets a bit heavy headed & intense.
The characters are well sketched, be it Lois, the brothers-Chaiman & Beo who ran the restaurant, General Dexterity colleagues, the alameda farmer market crew, their leader Lily and the iconic figure- Charlotte Clingstone.
If you enjoyed reading- Mr.Penumbra's 24-hour book store then you will certainly enjoy this book. And if you are like me, where you jump at any book which is remotedly related to food /bread/chocolate, then yes this book will definitely entice you.
As for me, hopefully i will bake my first sourdough bread this year.
Title of Book- Sourdough
No.of Pages-262
Genre- Fiction
ISBN-0374203105
Thank you for reading.
I want to stop writing now, go home and bake something. Anything cake, bread, cookie, pie. But bake, because as cliche as it may sound baking is theraupatic.
And sourdough is a step up. If baking bread with yeast is therapeutic, then baking with a starter is nirvana, its a demanding relationship between the starter & the baker but albeit a very fulfilling one.
After completing reading this book, i went off for lunch in cafeteria. The fragrant cooked spices coated my finger tips, as i dipped tiny pieces of roti into the "aloo-mutter" gravy. I couldn't help but think, about it origins, about how perfectly mix of spices brought together and produced a perfect blend to satisfy our taste buds. These thoughts were purely originated thanks to the book- Sourdough by Robin Sloan.
I picked up this book to read on a whim, when i saw its interesting cover on Reddit.com. The title itself appealed me to read.
The book begins with a programmer named Lois, who sets out for san Francisco to take up a new job in a company called General Dexeterity who specializes in new age robot arms to help in day to day tasks. Lois's life is mundane, its surrounded by meager approachable colleagues.
In a futuristic & a bit dystopian view of her work life, her work cafeteria offers a nutritious thick green shake effectively called- Slurry. Slurry is savored by all programmers including Lois. As luck might have it, one day Lois finds a flyer where a restaurant named -Clement street soup & sourdough which offered home delivery for spicy soup and sourdough bread.
The restaurant is heralded by two brothers-Beo & Chaiman, Lois begins to like this simple fare offered by the restaurant and becomes quite a regular. An unexpected event of visa issues makes the brothers leave the town and one of the brothers gifts Lois a starter to bake sourdough bread.
Lois, intrigued by the fact that this is the starter which fueled her daily dinner tries to bake one . The first bread baked by Lois, is a messy affair but invariably she becomes quite an expert on it. She consults books, studiously builds up an oven in the back yard and becomes quite a hit with her work-in house cafeteria Chef- Kate.
The sourdough bread, has this unique quality of a smiling face carved on the bread. Encouraged by Chef Kate, Lois decides to present her sourdough bread at the prestigious local farmer's market.
Her sourdough bread creation is rejected by jury members, but she is offered a place on a another off beat farmer market known as Marrow Fair in Alameda.
What greets her is a futuristic market, where food scientists, are creating new types of food inspired from traditional food. The food market which is not open to the public yet, is placed on a abandoned naval base, where it houses a weird, yet an amiable genius "microbe whisperer" who makes cheese, there is a baker who bakes cookies out of cricket flour, a microbiologist named Dr.Jaina Mitra who is working on a creating a new super food named "Lembas", an espresso barista master "Naz", Horace a curator of books related to food and to lead them all-Lily Belasco.
The book then oscillates between Lois & Beorzeg mails and Lois journey into the labyrinth of the Alameda fair. She gets further involved with the mysterious starter she is handed with. And invariably she also gets to close to other clan members of Marrow Fair.
This story moves forward with the origin of the starter and the tryst of Lois & her robotic arm to bake the perfect sourdough bread.
The ending of this novel is like an science fiction novel. On a deeper note, the story explores greed and its devastating effect of it. It explores the future of food and the intricate science of microbes, bacteria, new discoveries and reinventions of food . Robin Sloan makes a terrific job of writing & breaking down the microbes and organisms for us.
At times, the writing does get a bit technical and difficult to follow, but the story never loses it grip. It invariably studies human behavior and our relationship with our life saver- bread. It perhaps questions & provokes us about our basic need of food & evolution of food.
It also perhaps makes us think and ponder on where our grains, cheese, etc come from. The whole chain from a farmer's land to a retail shop. In the end, when Lois finally takes a decision on what to do with her starter, I was strangely reminded of Frodo in Lord of the rings.
Robin Sloan does a fine job of narrating of a Sourdough's starter's mystical journey and story. We are instantly drawn into Lois's life and her enthusiasm for the sourdough bread. The events, the description of the Alameda's Farmer's market doesn't sound far fetched at all and Robin Sloan has done a thorough research to indulge in the near science fiction story.
Although at times, the jargon and etymology of microbes, bacteria gets a bit heavy headed & intense.
The characters are well sketched, be it Lois, the brothers-Chaiman & Beo who ran the restaurant, General Dexterity colleagues, the alameda farmer market crew, their leader Lily and the iconic figure- Charlotte Clingstone.
If you enjoyed reading- Mr.Penumbra's 24-hour book store then you will certainly enjoy this book. And if you are like me, where you jump at any book which is remotedly related to food /bread/chocolate, then yes this book will definitely entice you.
As for me, hopefully i will bake my first sourdough bread this year.
Title of Book- Sourdough
No.of Pages-262
Genre- Fiction
ISBN-0374203105
Thank you for reading.
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