The theme of my summer reading book, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour bookstore, was that immortality is not found in living forever but in the work you do and the friendships you make in your lifetime, and what you do to make a name for yourself. It emerges when the idea that the founder of this fellowship, the Unbroken Spine, held the key to immortality in his codex vitae. Many of the characters believe that Aldus Manutius (said founder) was speaking of living forever, and many suspected that he was alive himself.
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But, after his codex vitae was translated by Clay Jannon, the main character-a feat that has never before been completed in the 500 years the Unbroken Spine had been trying- its revealed; “Really, Manutius’s codex vitae is just what it claims to be: its a book about his life.” (Sloan 272)
Throughout the book, immortality is used in different ways. Towards the end of the book, Clay discovers that his favorite author from sixth grade used to frequent the bookstore, and even became one of the Bound in the Unbroken Spine. The third and final book in the author’s series, The Dragon Song Chronicles, was in fact his codex vitae. The codex vitae is not aloud to be read until the author of it is dead, and he wanted to let the world know his hardships. He went through all of that work, and even cracked the code of Manutius's codex vitae, just to publish his book; the book of his life.
Clay draws a connection between a character in the book and Mr. Penumbra, saying "Penumbra has already earned a touch of immortality. Does he know?" (Sloan 264)
This shows a development in the character's opinion of immortality compared to the beginning where he would often think of 'frozen heads' and 'living for a thousand years and more' when the word popped in his mind.
Article from the New York Times
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