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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5⭐️ This book is one of the most unique and thought provoking things that I’ve read this year.
Piranesi is a book best to go into blind, as I believe you’ll be taken on the best journey this way not having any preconceptions about what happens.
The book itself crosses over many genres - it sits under the fantasy umbrella but I would describe it as magical realism meets dark academia.
The writing style is very literary and emotive so if you like any one of these genres this book is a great read to add to your list or if you want a taster to any of these genres.
You’ll most likely start the book thinking what is going on here but you have to just read it and take it in at face value and then as things start to fall into place you’ll be transported to a truly eye opening story.
Don’t be fooled by how short this book is - yes you most likely can read this in one day, but just because this book is less than 250 pages does not mean this will be an easy read or that it’s meant to be a filler book. This book was incredibly thought-provoking and does cover darker
themes at times. I highly enjoyed the critiques and commentary that Susanna Clarke was making, there are so many themes and allegories the book covers: mental health, the world of academia, solace and solitude, beauty in the natural world.
The fact that Susanna Clarke is able to do what she does with this story in such a small novel really shows how much of a master storyteller she is.
My favourite parts of the book was Piranesi himself - he’s a character you want to get behind and the way he sees the world is so beautiful, you can’t help but be enamoured by it.
I rated it a 4.5 starts and the dropped half star was due to the academic side of writing and I found I was having to reread things at times to make sure I was understanding things fully - and I haven’t read much in the dark academia genre - this was also what I struggled with with Babel by RF Kuang to add a reference point.
I hope this book fills people with wonder like it did for me and I highly recommend this for the avid reader!
Piranesi is a book best to go into blind, as I believe you’ll be taken on the best journey this way not having any preconceptions about what happens.
The book itself crosses over many genres - it sits under the fantasy umbrella but I would describe it as magical realism meets dark academia.
The writing style is very literary and emotive so if you like any one of these genres this book is a great read to add to your list or if you want a taster to any of these genres.
You’ll most likely start the book thinking what is going on here but you have to just read it and take it in at face value and then as things start to fall into place you’ll be transported to a truly eye opening story.
Don’t be fooled by how short this book is - yes you most likely can read this in one day, but just because this book is less than 250 pages does not mean this will be an easy read or that it’s meant to be a filler book. This book was incredibly thought-provoking and does cover darker
themes at times. I highly enjoyed the critiques and commentary that Susanna Clarke was making, there are so many themes and allegories the book covers: mental health, the world of academia, solace and solitude, beauty in the natural world.
The fact that Susanna Clarke is able to do what she does with this story in such a small novel really shows how much of a master storyteller she is.
My favourite parts of the book was Piranesi himself - he’s a character you want to get behind and the way he sees the world is so beautiful, you can’t help but be enamoured by it.
I rated it a 4.5 starts and the dropped half star was due to the academic side of writing and I found I was having to reread things at times to make sure I was understanding things fully - and I haven’t read much in the dark academia genre - this was also what I struggled with with Babel by RF Kuang to add a reference point.
I hope this book fills people with wonder like it did for me and I highly recommend this for the avid reader!
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
gorgeous, just an absolute stunner of a novel. imagine if the whimsy and authenticity of max porter’s ‘lanny’ met the dark academic intrigue of donna tartt’s ‘the secret history’ and the wonder and originality of world building of george saunder’s ’lincoln in the bardo’ and you’ll have created something close to how this book felt. it absolutely bursts its banks with beauty and wonder and chaos.
have you ever had a dream that feels like you lived in it for an extended period of time? and you wake up and take a second to mentally adjust your perceptions of reality back to This World, having glimpsed an entire reality of Another World that ran along very different lines? surely not just me? that’s what this book captures.
amongst all of that there’s this haunting, unsettling, eerie feel of a too perfect innocence. there’s beauty but it feels like it comes at a cost and we’re just not quite sure if we should be as worried as our gut wants us to be at what the price is.
honestly there is no description that would do this justice, please please please read it for yourself and talk to me about your journey through the House.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Slavery, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated