On the other hand, I want to point out some things I loved.ġ. Make it happen in four days.” While I doubt that is what happened, I can’t help but think the whole ending should have been scrapped for something a little more in line with the rest of the novel. Why, suddenly, did this pen pal and friend become a lover? It was random and read to me like an editor sat Sloan down and said “This book needs a love story.

(Spoiler Alert) Since these things come in threes, I also must criticize the ending. The exception to this is the Marrow Market’s librarian, whom I found quite charming. I felt similarly about other characters like Lily, Chef Kate, and the starter-supplying brothers. I constantly wanted to know how Lois was feeling beyond happy, sad, hungry for sourdough, etc.-especially considering the tyrannical work environment she found herself in. The characters, too, were as flat as a dead batch of sourdough starter. The sourdough starter had a life of it’s own, which was cute, and the Marrow Market had a few quirky advances however, these things do not warrant a scifi distinguisher, in my opinion. The science fiction aspects of the plot were quite unsubstantial and, in fact, I would sooner call them paranormal. Sadly, Sourdough fell short of my expectations. Food, some science fiction, Silicon Valley satire? Sounds so good, right? It pushes us to do something simpler, to wonder at the weird beauty, set down in Sloan’s matter-of-fact prose, of life - or at least marvel at the strange sights and tastes of a familiar world embellished by a particularly inventive mind.I was so excited about the premise of this book.

And even then, the novel defies clear-cut analysis. Instead, whatever lessons we might draw from Sourdough are more personal, ambiguous and hard to extract: having humility, perhaps, or an open mind. What Sourdough isn’t concerned about are topical conflicts in food today - characters touch on the follies of industrialized food production, boutique organic farms and GMOs, but only briefly. sustenance-related tales resonate throughout the story until food itself comes across as a sort of grand, delicious imprint of humanity. But after Lois learns a thing or two about how to really live, Sloan’s story expands into something decidedly, and delightfully, weirder. Lois’ turnaround is satisfying to watch - who doesn’t want all their problems solved by the simple act of baking? - but it goes down a little too easy, more like artificially flavored candy than a loaf of whole wheat.

Sourdough fiction book