Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

63 reviews

adverb17's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Excrement, Vomit, and Kidnapping

friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

This is a relatively short book. How did all the action start only at like 50% (if not 75%)? At first I was hooked. I liked the dream-like atmosphere, mistery, and vibes. But. This action thing started just before me dnf ing this. At some point (second cuarter?)i got annoyed by piranesi’s innosence. Even the action started slowly and built itself up. Then down again.. i wouldnt recommend spending your time on this. Read a spoilary discussion somewhere if you must. There are much better things out there. If there were any plot twists at all I predicted them already. Yes the 6th and 7th parts are nice. But still. Dissapointment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Gun violence and Vomit

Very big endless spaces.

aegagrus's review against another edition

4.5

Piranesi is an exciting mystery which plays out in a uniquely imagined and uniquely rendered physical environment. The titular character is both interesting and likeable; his great curiosity and compassion animate his interactions and tie the different threads of his story together. With the exception of a single episode I found overly abrupt, his gradual development as a character is measured and well-paced. The story's resolution is also well-paced; Clarke avoids the tendency of suspenseful stories of this sort to become overly frenetic and lose some of their subtlety as they approach a finale. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, and Death

madmantha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Deadnaming, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, and Trafficking

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

mogmogmog's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Slavery, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Excrement, and Medical content

mhindman's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

tiredtori's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

It's been a few weeks since I read this now and I'm still thinking about it. The character of Piranesi is really loveable and innocent and the mystery that unravels the further you get into the book is enough to get you hooked. It's not a long book at 245 pages but it leaves a lasting impression. I'll be picking up more of Susanna Clarke's books in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cursing, Death, Slavery, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

juliloops's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cursing and Murder

Minor: Animal death and Death

bicyclefrog's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Initially I gave this book 4.5/5 but here I am 2 months later bumping my rating up to 5. This book is so emotionally accurate that Clarke anticipated my own emotional journey during a life change before I even saw it coming. Gorgeous world building, realistic characters, and some of the best writing I’ve come across. Can’t get it out of my brain.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing and Death

nikenacs's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-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

5.0

[Book club - December 2021]
The most five-star-y five-star book I read this year (sorry, Song of Achilles). I could talk about it for two hours (and I did, in book club) and still not mention everything about it that I liked. 

Piranesi is a mystery, a puzzle box waiting to be solved, but unfortunately your narrator has no idea the puzzle even exists. It takes the term "unreliable narrator" to a whole other level. The reader constantly knows way more than the main character, even though he is our only way of knowing things in the first place. It fascinated and engaged me like few books before. 

Piranesi is a drop-dead gorgeous experience even apart from the mystery. Susanna Clarke's world feels incredibly tangible and lived-in (even though so very few people live in it). The House and its Statues will live in my mind rent-free for quite a while. 

But above all, and at the risk of sounding incredibly cliché, Piranesi is an exercise in humanity. It is, fundamentally, a book about what makes a person human and what makes society tick (even if that society consist of one guy, his distant colleague, a few dead bodies and a whole lot of birds and statues). Piranesi's caregiving, his rituals, his morality, his near-religious interpretation of his World, his refusal to harm even his supposed enemy, and, in the end,

his desire for community over comfort - even being stripped of almost all personal identity,

he still remains the most human(e) character of all. 

Susanna Clarke, I will sell my soul to you. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell has already moved in on my To Read shelf. Thank you for this absolute gem of a novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Dementia, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Gun violence and Homophobia

Minor: Cursing