Readers Of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore By Robin Sloan

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Recommended: Macroeconomic impacts on business

Readers of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan should be aware of the impact that the Great Recession had on the story, and its characters. In the first few chapters of the book, it is learned that the main character, Clay, was laid off during the midst of the recession. Employed at the company New Bagel until the recession, he says to the audience, “I was unemployed, as a result of the great food-chain contraction that swept through America in the early twenty-first century, leaving bankrupt burger chains and shattered sushi empires in its wake. (Sloan, 4)” During the recession, many companies weren’t able to pay their employees, and were led into bankruptcy. Companies such as Value City, Bennigan’s, General Motors, and even Borders

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