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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
for the first 50 pages of that book I couldn’t bring myself to read it, it took me forever to get through…after that I couldn’t bring myself to put it down
What a ride! If you are going to read this book, don't stop if you struggle in the beginning. I felt the beginning was rather tough, but the reward of finishing the book is worth it! The pace picks up like crazy after the first 60 or so pages as well. But again; What. A. Ride.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There’s no doubt that this book in interesting, unique, and beautifully written, but I also found it rather boring most of the time. There really isn’t much that actually happens and what does happen pretty much all takes place in the last 25%. If you like very lyrical writing for used on a single character and don’t care if there’s a real plot or not, you’ll probably love this. If you crave action, and something to root for, and a strong moving plotline, then you’ll probably feel the same way I do. It’s very reminiscent to me of the Starless Sea, so if you’ve read that, let it be your barometer for whether to pick this one up.
Humans have an innate proclivity to empathise with those that suffer, moreso those that suffer innocently. Clarke has captured this quality beautifully in her book. Piranesi had me enraptured in the vicious severity of its innocence, with its metaphors upon metaphors of ambition, religion, progress, and life embedded within it.
Picture the vigilant anticipation with which you may read the climax of any book. Now impute that feeling to the entirety of the reading exercise, from introduction to conclusion. That is how it feels to read Piranesi. I feel all at once, an aching sense of loss at having finished the book, and a striking sense of clarity at having gained a new perspective.
Piranesi is unlike anything I have ever read before, and I doubt I ever will. If you do decide to read this book, I promise that you will come out of it a changed person.
Picture the vigilant anticipation with which you may read the climax of any book. Now impute that feeling to the entirety of the reading exercise, from introduction to conclusion. That is how it feels to read Piranesi. I feel all at once, an aching sense of loss at having finished the book, and a striking sense of clarity at having gained a new perspective.
Piranesi is unlike anything I have ever read before, and I doubt I ever will. If you do decide to read this book, I promise that you will come out of it a changed person.
I am choosing to see this as a reimagining of plato’s allegory of the cave, and I do love an unreliable narrator! There was a lot to think about in here about perception and attitude, and a lot of it was really beautiful. However I think reading this over the course of 2 days kept it the freshest it could have been for me- if I had taken longer I definitely would have gotten bored of hearing about the eighth hall in the twenty second vestibule of the third floor for the hundredth time. I don’t think that kind of thing irked me though because Piranesi was such a pure and lovable perspective that I just could not be frustrated with him!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated