Reviews with content warning for Excrement - Piranesi

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Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

65 reviews

maeverose's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

This is one of those books that I like more in hindsight after having read it. It has such cool themes and concepts, but while reading it I was a bit bored at times.

My favorite part of the book is actually the beginning when things are still confusing and strange and you’re kinda just going along for the ride. I loved the mystery of not knowing what was going on. I loved the world building of the House. Such a cool setting. The aesthetics of this book as well as Piranesi as a character are probably it’s strongest features imo. The actual mystery reveal fell flat for me.

I liked that it was actually fantasy and not that he was in a coma or something like I thought it might end up being, but idk it just wasn’t as cool as the rest of the book to me. There were also some homophobic insinuations about a specific character that I didn’t like. His being gay was always mentioned in tandem with crimes he committed. And at the end it almost seemed to imply that Piranesi had DID and a new alter had split off, but DID can only be caused by childhood trauma not trauma as an adult, so that kinda irked me. But it never gives him a diagnosis so it could totally just be that he’s ‘generally traumatized’ and that was how the author chose to interpret it, idk.

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wrestleacademic's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

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sabrinalefebvre's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

The first 5 pages were a sludge to get through but after that I was hooked. The mc was such a pleasant character. I loved hearing his thoughts, which is surprising because I usually prefer 3rd person Povs.

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tragedies's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.25

Clarke's labyrinthine House feels like Plato's cave. Instead of shadows, there are statues. And instead of prisoners, there is Piranesi. He resides in these halls, alone with only marble sculptures and birds to keep him company. Except for the occasional visit from The Other, he remains alone... until he is not.

The story follows Piranesi's quest for truth and explores the eventual pitfalls that come with uncovering it. Though the pace was slow at first and the narrative rather tedious, I still found it incredibly compelling. I just couldn't help but flip the page. It was captivating enough to pique my curiosity yet disturbing enough to make me suspicious, even queasy. The entire time, the writing felt like there was something beneath the surface, a feeling that someone or something was watching. It's strange and intriguing but also enthralling and oddly profound. Rather than a fantasy adventure, it's more of an existential journey, one that used otherworldly elements to raise questions and prove a point.

In the end, everything was tied together beautifully. It was touching and poetic, leaving me with an aching melancholy that I don't quite know how to deal with.

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chrisljm's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Despite the short length of the book, it is a slow start full of world building. However once you get past that it is so incredibly captivating, and I come to realize how amazing the world building is. Although Piranesi isn’t the only character, he is pretty much the only character you see majority of the time, but even so he’s engaging and the storytelling is fantastic, immersive, and so unique. I loved how soft the fantasy elements were and the way the novel was structured. Basically everything that I found slightly confusing at first were all things that I came to appreciate and really enjoy.

I think Susanna Clarke deserved the awards she got for this book, and I understand why I heard so much praise for it, but I can also see how this book wouldn’t be for every type of reader. Luckily, I enjoyed it immensely and I found that this is the type of story that lingers and leaves a lot to think on afterwards. One of them being that personally, I would love to see The House because to Me it sounded beautiful despite its solitude. I also think it would be interesting to see how other readers viewed The House, in a personality test type of way.

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jaan's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I really, really loved this book. It is paced EXCELLENTLY, which has been a gripe of mine for quite a few recent reads. Clarke's imagery and descriptions are stunning, and she does a really good job acclimatizing you to the endless Halls and the way Piranesi has numbered them. I felt a lot of influence from Jorge Luis Borges' short story "The Library of Babel." My friend pointed out strong visual memory imprints similar to CS Lewis' The Magician's Nephew

(I personally got way too excited about the reference to Mr. Tumnus)

and William Blake's writing from The Marriage of Heaven of Hell, and specifically his ideas on the doors of perception. This book also deals with memory a lot, and while I wouldn't quite call it dementia, memory loss is a motif through the end of the book.

Emmanuel Levinas was a Jewish philosopher who wrote on the Other and our responsibility (which can be anything from hospitality to aggression) towards other people. He writes that infinity is the unbounded quality of the face of the other. We witness death only in the death of the other. In coming face to face, the "I" is addressed by the other, and it is chosen to respond, rising to the other, saying, "here I am."

Piranesi also deals, quite literally, with The Other, continuing to answer this responsibility even after his name is revealed.

Piranesi, the character, is an extremely loveable person. Since this novel is epistolary, the first few entries take us through who he is, who the other people in the House are (mostly dead, whom he cares for), and his numbering system for the Halls. Once these logistical questions are acknowledged, he goes right into, "Do Trees exist?"

"Imagine water flowing underground. It flows through the same cracks year after year and it wears away at the stone. Millennia later you have a cave system. But what you don’t have is the water that originally created it. That’s long gone. Seeped away into the earth."

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whatthelauj's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

This was a very strange little book. I did find the mystery very interesting but it definitely wasn't what I expected when I picked it up. Wish there was a little more shown of the readjustment at the end but still a beautifully written piece.

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ms_ameerah's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

4.5

This book takes you on a journey, is all I'll say...

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stephaniepihlkrarup's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Piranesi is the new literary love of my life. It is profound and wonderful. It reads like a classic — one which your soul has read many times before - one you might expect to find hidden away, with an inscription on the first page, gifting to an ancestor of yours, by an ancestor of theirs.
This book is nothing like what I expected but everything I had hoped.

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addyruth17's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

"Perhaps that is what it is like being with other people. Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not."

Immersive. Baffling. Brilliant.

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