Reviews with content warning for Murder - Piranesi

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

180 reviews

levesc17's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense 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? No

5.0

Wow! What an unusual book; lovely and thought provoking, and fantastical. It’s told from one character journaling the whole story and the narrator’s voice is delightful and whimsical which guides you through the mystery of the plot effortlessly.

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chalkletters's review against another edition

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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

3.5

Piranesi was a Christmas gift from Rebecca, and being picked for Fantasy Book Club means I’m actually ‘allowed’ to read it, even though this blog still has more fantasy reviews than any other single genre. I went into it knowing nothing, except that I’d liked what I’d read of Susanna Clarke’s last book, but hadn’t even come close to finishing it. Piranesi is much shorter, but both novels have been written in a metafictional way which foregrounds the process of writing.

Like Beatrice Belladonna Eastwood (The Once and Future Witches), Piranesiis another character who values notebooks and journal-keeping. His journals even have a separate notebook which serves as an index, which will surely excite any bullet journal fans reading! Writing advice often insists that every character needs a goal, but for most of the novel, it’s hard to tell what, exactly, Piranesi is looking for. Despite this, and the fact that he spends much of the book alone, Susanna Clarke keeps his story interesting.

Piranesi’s thought-process is refreshingly different. Like The Napoleon of Notting Hill, Susanna Clarke includes thought-provoking insights which invite the reader to think about how they see their own world. The capitalising of some nouns could be a tad distracting, but the prose is otherwise nicely transparent. Though the mystery of the world inclines the reader to question character’s motives, Piranesi has a much more relaxed atmosphere than The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.

There should be plenty to talk about in book club, though it remains to be seen whether Piranesi will raise as many questions as The Bone Shard Daughter. Either way, it should be interesting!

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sorcha's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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troldmand's review against another edition

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dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

4.75

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dosxhime's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective 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

I will destroy anyone that hurts Piransei.

That is all.

This read was pretty quick since there were so many mysteries to unravel and Clarke delievered on them perfectly. The twist on what the House is was so original and unique and if I was a thinker, I would ponder more on the themes and ideas that the novel presented. I have to say that the romanticization of the past as well as it mystical properties were well presented in the House and it gives off a haunting lonely atmosphere that kept me hooked on the book.

4.5 / 5 A

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minibean24's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

This book is certainly one of the most creative books I have read. However, it felt slightly half-baked to me and had an agonizingly slow start. I really wanted to love it!

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alexxm13's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-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

5.0

First of all the parallels between this and “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley is beyond my brain power to wrap around, I will be spending hours on reflecting and contrasting how this masterpiece is so similar to one of my fav classics. Looking for dark academia vibes but its not “the secret history” with overachieving students but also similar to “Frankenstein”’s writing style of scientific characters and agony? Yea this book is for u . Ok before I dive deep into why this book is so good, I will be honest that the first 100ish pages I wanted to dnf it umm not that it was bad it was just at a pace where nothing much was happening and it read like a journal of someone’s that I couldn’t care less about and also I just was not in the mood to read this sort of fiction BUT for the past 2 days I sat down and forced myself continue this and thank fuck I did. I sat outside with the sunset going down in the back with my oversized hoody and after 3 hours I started to rlly enjoy it, things were happening and that moment of “wow this is so powerful” yeah that happened like 10 times while reading it. The last half of this was incredible and made me want to consume it all in one sitting . Okay putting my eng lit brain on and comparing the parallels between the characters; the other (victor Frankenstein) and Piranesi (monster) is just uncanny. u have a mad scientist who just wants to know beyond this one world and what else exists after death and creation of a world and life who legit kidnaps his “friend” as he manipulates him so he can get recognition and feed into his hubris, hamartia if u will (look at me go Shakespeare class) and due to this overly ambitious goals this in end destroys him. Anyways paralleling to victor who is also this drop out student but still wants to continue with his wild research about creation he creates a “monster” due to his ambition to prove his worth. And then the victims; Piranesi who is this clueless man and has been driven to madness for however many years trapped in “the house” who was manipulated by his friend who brought him to this world, just like the monster who is also quite clueless but “misery made me a fiend” and at the end these victims destroy who betrayed them :) . Anyways back to the book, my analysis can pause for now its 11pm and I should just chill my brain but anyways there are so many quotes and themes I adore in this, eg; “the one who will never submit to being driven mad by you” CAN U HEAR ME SCREAM? This is a literal lovers to enemies line and im on the floor because of that because the connection these two characters have is like a stab in the heart and I know when I read “vicious” by ve schwab it will do the same for me ugh . Also I love the mc like he’s so lovely and selfless and the last few chapters made me rlly sad that he can’t remember his family after son long being trapped and he didn’t initially want to go home as he thought this new world is his home, but he was just lied to for years and found these skeletons and looks after them as he is that lonely but im so happy that he was able to find a genuine friend; Raphael who wants what is best for him and not for the sake of fame or money or the greater knowledge which is a key theme I want to expand on more tbh .Was this book initially a 5 star? Absolutely not, before the past 2 days of reading the 2nd half this was going to be a 2 but the angst, the meanings, the quotes, so many things made it a 5 and I 100% recommend for anyone to read this esp for people who want dark academia style books that are not hyped because this deserves love!

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caleb_makes'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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective

4.5

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