By Susanna Clarke
SPOILER-FREE
Piranesi‘s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.
There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.
REVIEW
THEMES: CONTEMPORARY, MYSTERIOUS, SPECULATIVE, FAST-PACED.
Piranesi lives in a house so large, that he has yet to explore it all. He is kept company by the statues that line the halls as well as the only other living being. The Other.
The Other and Piranesi both convene to discuss scientific matters. The search for Great and Secret Knowledge.
Piranesi enjoys these regular catchups until he starts discovering peculiar happenings around the house. The more he discovers, the more he begins to question everything around him.
I got this book all wrong.
Despite being told it was not a retelling of the minotaur; I stubbornly assumed it was (references are made though). Another aspect that surprised me is how modern it is (2000’s).
This was a very easy book to get through. The diary entries allow the reader to become Piranesi. Whilst I have read many first-person stories, there can be suggestive sentences that are just for the reader. Whereas in Piranesi, you find out everything with him. That being said, there are so many moments you want to scream at him.
Clarke does a great job at building Piranesi. He has very distinct characteristics, which are most prominent when he interacts with The Other. The story was consistent throughout, and the ending felt right.
The diary titles and location descriptions felt unnecessary. It is one of those funny situations where it is important to the story but unnecessary for the reader. I ended up skimming them.
Overall, a great read. It took me a minute to get into, but once I did, I flew through it! Despite it not being a Greek Myth retelling, I still put it in the category.
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