Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

18 reviews

mofiii's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-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

5.0

When reading this book, you feel as though you are dropped into a deep and far more intricate store which you uncover more and more of along the way. You walk along side our lovely Piranesi, the Beloved Child of the House, as the World he lives in morphs as revelations and truths are discovered. Clarke made the reader feel as if they are also inside the House, wandering through the many Halls and Vestibules. The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; it's Kindness infinite 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ebp's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

adaora_ble's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

alainral's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This became my favorite book the moment I read it. It's a masterpiece and will certainly be taught in classrooms in the future.

It's eloquent. It's insightful. It's philosophical. It's full of allusions and depth. It starts slow, but I was hooked once I started to really savor the imagery and prose.

Piranesi is a really refreshing protagonist. His innocence is delightful but belies a deeper meaning. The mystery and danger is gripping.

I was left with questions and thoughts about memory, colonialism, racism (particularly the noble savage trope), science, the nature of identity and consciousness, and so much more.

The most haunting thing about Piranesi is that there is nothing else I've read that even comes close to it, neither in subject matter or quality.


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mobymaize's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

What a truly joyful, kind, and beautiful read. Piranesi reminds me of my dreams of endless homes, endless reflections of life & the love of the world & its inhabitants that I hold so dear. 

Holy fuck this book rocks. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

skywhales's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

5.0

i like when books make me feel smart by making me feel just a littttllleee bit stupid but not so much that i feel totally lost. honestly i think the hype this got kind of intimidated me more going in than i ended up needing to be? like it felt like i'd overreacted in the end. honestly some of the reviews have me wondering if we read the same book. especially the people saying this is about how life is inherently Bad?? this seems to be quite blatantly saying the opposite

i know some people didn't like the book because of how long it takes for Plot to start happening but i was a kid who read those long plotless manuals about the magic system or bestiary for some kind of specific fantasy world. this was never a problem for me. i liked the journal entries i liked just wandering around the halls i liked the hint of the mystery we got!

all of the characters apart from piranesi felt pretty flat (maybe with the exception of
arne-sayles?
) but maybe that was on purpose. i can't really be too upset about it because after all the book is About piranesi. if we had to only flesh out one character it's good that it was him.
i liked raphael right up until we learned she was a cop :( will never ever be able to truly enjoy a cop character who is portrayed as a Righteous Force For Good and nothing is put into truly examining that idea. though i don't know what i expected from a book of this size and a specific story to tell.


definitely a book i will read again and probably take notes on because a couple of times i was like ohh if i was the kind of person who took notes on books i would make a note of this. couldn't write in this as it was a library book and i don't like writing inside of books anyway because i smudge everywhere but i need to start just. making documents again.

honestly if i leave you with one thing it is that this book is really not at all intimidating as long as you are the kind of person who likes reading about some pointless minutiae (and i am so it worked for me). and despite the awfulness of some of its characters i absolutely believe that this is a book about hopefulness and the beauty of humanity. and i continue to be a Sucker For That Shit.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

booksmoviesandstories's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

atlas_shruggs's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious reflective relaxing slow-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

3.5

3.5
This book was very mystical and mysterious and made me feel a lil bit dumb a lot bit, but it was a very quick and fun read once I got into it.
Without saying too much, it follows a young man called Piranesi living in a sort of Greek labyrinth full of statues. I can't really describe the plot without spoiling the entire book, so I recommend just going in blind.
I thought the story was very good and well thought out once it got going, the conclusion was satisfying and the characters were fun to follow. I do think it was a bit slow but it's slowness was not necessarily a bad thing, just a bit hard to get into.
I did also really like the mystery, I wasn't really expecting it so it was a fun surprise. The writing was also beautifully done, and made me very excited to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. Unfortunately I can't really give it more than a 3.5 as it didn't really hit me as hard as I wanted it to. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

stephaniepihlkrarup's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings