Piranesi

Well, this is about this house, and...

Wait, no, there's this guy they call Piranesi...

Piranesi is in this giant labyrinth of many halls that has doors and windows and also has oceans, birds and fish, and many statues. As he maps out and studies his environment, he rediscovers how he got there in the first place and interacts with some extremely unpleasant academic types.

Part of the mystery is figuring out the situation itself, and the reader learns along with Piranesi.

Whatever it's about, Clarke is a very skilled writer and this is a beautiful book. I was enthralled with this right from the start. It's a unique little novel, I don't think I've read another I could compare to it.

Selfishly, I wish she were a bit more prolific. But to paraphrase Harlan Ellison, it's easier to read than to have ideas.

Probably my most anticipated release of the year, Piranesi did not disappoint. Once you've oriented yourself in the labyrinth of vestibules and halls and staircases (and it does take some time, be patient), this is an engrossing read. The whole thing feels like a dream about a tangled pile of string you need to unravel before winding it all back up into a neat ball. Reminiscent of Borges, Pale Fire, and Invisible Cities, with just a sprinkling of House of Leaves. Don't read anything about this book before you pick it up; just pick it up.

I think my review is going to be very similar to most others. The beginning of this book is so weird and confusing, but it is so weird and confusing that it makes you want to figure out what is going on. It also makes sense that it is confusing based on the circumstances that the main character is in. As the story developed it became more interesting to try to figure out alongside the main character what was happening and how he came to be in the situation he was in. I couldn't put the book down for the last 25%.

The setting was very interesting and I have never read another book with a structure like this. If you don't mind being in the dark and slowly having the story revealed to you, I would recommend.

A haunting and thought provoking book.

There exists a world of endless vast marble halls, each lined with statues. Huge staircases lead up to halls filled with clouds, or down to the drowned halls in which the ocean rages.

Through these halls wanders a man, alone except for the bones of thirteen predecessors and The Other.

Fifteen dwellers in this, The House.

These are his journals which tell of his explorations, his discoveries, and of the coming of the Sixteenth.

—-

I'm not sure what it was about this book, but I was desperate to uncover the mysteries it presented. It was very hard to put it down - I just kept plowing through at every available opportunity.

I'm sure I'll be thinking about the imagery in this book for a very long time.

It was a real delight to be lost in the labyrinthian walls of Susanna Clarke's Piranesi. Clarke's dizzying descriptions of endless hallways, vestibules, and staircases was disorienting but also mesmerizing.

Piranesi, our kindhearted and peculiar main character, is a wonderful window into this world. There are many mysteries that surround him and the maze he finds himself in. Clarke answers more of these riddles than felt necessary, but ultimately, this is a cracking good read that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a brief escape to a more hopeful world.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

There's far more to dig into with this story. It'll needs more than one reading. I wouldn't have expected anything less from Clarke, to be honest.

On the surface, there's a mystery to unravel, but it's more than that.

Having only just finished it (and without spoilers), to me it's a story of surviving, of reconciling the different people you are throughout your life. Personally, I read it as a metaphor for incorporating things that suddenly change - whatever that might be: mental or physical health, parenthood, grief (to name only a few sudden changes) - into who you see yourself as. It's a solitary journey.

I actually really enjoyed it, and given enough time to digest, I'll probably find more layers.

I'm conflicted about this book. I really felt like I should love the ending, but something felt off about it. Most Importantly, However, The Frequent Frivolous Capitalization of Random Words Was Deeply Annoying. However, on the other hand, I the concept and the worldbuilding. The second half of the book is rally fun, because of all of Piranesi's inner confilct.

2.5

I'm sort of at a loss for what to say about this book.

Essentially, this book is not about the plot. There isn't much of a plot beyond our protagonist, Piranesi, lives in a strange, pocket world of a giant, sprawling, perhaps endless mansion overrun with birds and the ocean. The only other person he has contact with is a besuited man he calls ‘the Other.'

Welcome to the first half of the book, where Piranesi details the statues, rooms, wildlife, tides and meetings with the Other. The first, say, 40% of the book is pure worldbuilding. The only issue is this world is rather empty and detached. So you're essentially just getting a feel for the mood, which is one of isolation and otherness. There's very little meat on the bones of the characters to break into, and while the house itself is a character, it's sterile outside of the few parts with wildlife.

When the story finally kicks in, it's entertaining enough, but only about half of the book contains any conflict whatsoever. It reminds me of ‘The Martian' except, where in ‘The Martian' he's trapped on Mars and trying to get out, Piranesi doesn't seem to care about being trapped in this world and doesn't want to get out. So there's no tension. What, I suppose, the author wanted to use to keep you reading was the sense of mystery around the house.

The problem? Astute readers will know what the house represents. That means there's even less tension.

As I said, though, when the actual plot starts, this is enjoyable and left me wondering what this book could've been if there was a plot that stretched the entire (short) book and not just late into the second act into the third. I'm all for experimenting with form, but there wasn't much of anything early on.

Plus, look... spoilers, I suppose. It was all just in his head the whole time is the absolute worst storytelling convention. C'mon! It was so clear from the offset that what was so strange about the house was that it probably didn't exist, only exacerbated by the whole story of The Prophet getting there by putting himself in a childlike state of mind, then Ketterley hypnotizing Matthew Rose Sorensen. Or the guy discovered in the secret room of the house that led to the prison time.

C'moooon. It was so apparent.

4.5 stars
I loved this book.
Susanna Clarke's writing really works for me. I loved Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell when I read it years ago, so I was excited to read Piranesi. It didn't disappoint at all.
At first, it was a little bit confusing, but Piranesi's journey was absolutely captivating. There were wild theories swirling in my mind, about what was happening, and I enjoyed it so freaking much.

This is a masterpiece. A complex, unique, interesting, enigma that made my mind spin, and made me feel as confined as Piranesi was in this weird world. I loved every second of it, even when it made me doubt if I was smart enough for the ride.

CAWPILE SCORE

C-7
A-9
W-9
P-7
I-7
L-8
E-5
TOTAL-7.43/10

A good book, with a unique story. wasn't really my thing. very quick after i got about 1/2 way through.
Great Prose and Characters.
CharactersPiranesi is a great character, the rest we barely see, but Piranesi is definitely super crazy. Living in a world of abstract where ideas are represented. But I've never met anyone in my entire life who writes journals the way he does, even before he goes crazy.AtmosphereElegent descriptions with emotional resonance make me feel like I'm really there or that I can easily imagine seeing what is there. Between the light fluffiness of the House or the way she writes his interactions with the other characters. WritingGreat writing, but it was overly descriptive to me. Makes sense in the story. Very interesting to write everything as journal entries. Which was well done.PlotThe plot is limited. Piranesi is investigating the house for the Other. 16 comes and rescues him. We are left wondering what is going on through part 3-4. I prefer to have a bit more of a direction earlier. The leisurely pace is definitely consistent with the story being toldInvestmentThe start of the story put me off a little bit, because I felt no connection to Piranesi. I'm not much for art and that's what the first first 2 parts felt like. Like I was stuck in an art lecture. After I was able to start piecing the picture together of what happened, I started to fell more invested in what was happening.LogicThe logic was consistent internally, but I have to wonder about how long Piranesi was in there before he went crazy.EnjoymentOverall I enjoyed this book. Probably not worth a reread, but a good idea that was turned into a good book.

I will be talking about it on Libromancy 04/06/2022 https://libromancy.podbean.com/

This book was amazing. I never managed to get into Jonathan Strange, but this book gripped me from the first pages and still hasn't let go. It's impossible to describe what it's about without spoiling it, but it's safe to say that it's a real puzzle box of a book. The puzzle is not just ours to figure out, it turns out our protagonist has memory problems that means he's almost as clueless as the reader. A masterpiece, and I hope it wish the author wins every award it's bound to be nominated for.

Haunting, gentle, and somehow, serendipitously, just the perfect followon to [b:Anathem 7914507 Anathem Neal Stephenson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328123532l/7914507.SY75.jpg 6163095] and to two books on schizophrenia—but it would take way too long to explain why.Some writers have incredible imaginations; some, compassion; some, talent; Clarke has them all and more. She drew me in from the opening quotes, even before the opening pages, and kept me hooked. The way she invents a baffling weird world, shoves you into it, uncomprehending, but also gives you just enough to navigate along and make gradual sense of it. The ambiguities that keep you wondering, then revisiting your understanding of the story. The charm and wonder with which she infuses it all.There were times when the narrative gimmick (first-person journal) felt contrived, enough so to jostle me out of the story: “hmmm, I need some exposition here.” And her villains—as in her other books—are just eversoslightly more sociopathic than seems absolutely necessary. No matter: this was delightful and memorable and (for me, today) oh so timely.