It was certainly a struggle to get through Part 1 of this book, and the rest was still fairly hard to read in big chunks (until this last bit). The confusing aspect of the World is hard to follow most of the time, but you do kind of just have to accept that's how this book is. And it's an important aspect, with Piranesi's character.

Also minor spoilers? Kind of? But this book resonated with me towards the end, with the gaslighting, and the realisation of what's really going on - but still feeling a confusing type of way towards that person. As well that Piranesi is forever changed by the House and what he lived through there.

Content Warnings

godfrina's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

When the Moon rose in the Third Northern Hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule.

If I have to read the word "vestibule" one more time this year...

Look, I gotta be honest, I did not love it.

Obviously, I read it for the hype / just wanted a shorter story inbetween other reads. I don't know what I expected.
~~I mean, I kind of do know what I expected, reading the short and deliberately confusing synopsis and such, but I guess........eh?~~

The first 40% or so were an absolute slog for me. I dredged through, like Piranesi through the Drowned Halls; I was this close to my first DNF for the year.
Don't get me wrong, the prose as a whole is beautiful, albeit almost unintelligible. There is paragraphs of "I read it, but that's it". It knits together in the end, yes, however, it left me with an "huh"-feeling, with looming ✨anxiety and dread✨ behind it. I did not think it inspirational or hopeful.

I upped my initial rating of 2 for the second half of the novel to 2.5 as I clearly had a lot of thoughts right after finishing the story and that in itself always counts for something in my book.

Content Warnings

karwc's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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peregrinwho's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.0

An interesting exploration of our interactions with the world with beautiful visuals. Only didn't go 5 stars cause I didn't feel any kind of attachment to the characters

(and a cop saves him in the end)

, which I think is because we're not told how anyone feels within the story. There's one brief mention of fear, but otherwise what's happening is all we get. Without being shown what the mc felt alongside it, it subsequently made everything disconnected. Otherwise a nice easy read good for when you don't want stakes or crying.

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shoohoob's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated

4.25

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horizonous's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Beautifully written and with every new piece of information more and more engaging. I think, the depiction of loneliness was the hardest but also somewhat most comforting part about this story. Definitely a book that will stay with me for a while.

Content Warnings

withlivjones's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Treading the lines between literary fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi, this is very much a “wtf am I reading” book in the best way, and I devoured it so quickly because the mystery was so gripping. Piranesi is such an endearing protagonist, I loved his almost childlike innocence combined with the fact that he can be highly intelligent at times. I was told that the book had a slow start which made me a little apprehensive, but I didn’t find myself getting bored at all because Piranesi’s narrative voice is so strong and the vibes of the book are so atmospheric and whimsical.

Content Warnings

kiabia24's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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