Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

226 reviews

laurenipsum's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Gun violence, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, and Violence

plantydakota's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would give it 5 stars, but I found the writing style a little bit difficult. Until the last quarter of the book, I was often losing focus and had to reread whole pages because I missed parts. I also felt the book ended a little too soon. I thought it was leading up to Piranesi and Raphael having a conversation that resulted in them deciding to go back to the House, to bring James Ritter with them, and live the rest of their days there. Even if they didn't decide to go back to the House I would have liked to see their conversation in the cafe in the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, and Medical content

Moderate: Confinement and Mental illness

sunflower7skull's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Very interesting book. Very psychological with a very slow start, but I found it very intruiging as I continued, especially with the unreliable narrator aspect. I enjoyed the mystery, though I found it somewhat predictable at times. I honestly don't get the hype myself, but I can see why others would like it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Torture, Death, Abandonment, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Cursing

Minor: Homophobia, Excrement, Mental illness, and Vomit

Warning for amnesia / character not in stable mindset at all!

verpissdich's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Extremely fast read, very interesting plot. Very visual. Leaves a lasting impression. Cool world construction.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness and Toxic relationship

danasaur's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Trafficking, Torture, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Abandonment, Murder, Gun violence, and Blood

Minor: Excrement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit

futureofmydays's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Death, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Torture, Vomit, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment

chelly_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

thisislaura's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Oof, first I love/hated it, then I couldn’t put it down, then I was like “This better have a happy ending Susanna Clarke!” Then I was really taken with how beautiful it was. Excellent writing and all the feels. 

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Content Warnings

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

tifftastic87's review against another edition

mysterious reflective 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? No

4.0

Piranesi lives in what he calls "the House" collecting data and making notes. There is no one living with him, just the Other, who visits twice a week and asks questions. One of these questions is strange and Piranesi starts looking back over his data and everything starts slowly coming to light. 

The story was definitely slow, atmospheric and mysterious. We only find things out as Piranesi does and are just as confused as he is most of the time. I honestly didnt put it together until near the end and was so pleased with it. 

Another "just vibes" book but any attempt at describing vibes would spoil the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, and Gun violence

Minor: Excrement

myiscoh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Could not put it down for the entire book, intriguing world-building throughout with a really interesting mystery plot. Would drag for the first 60~ pages if you’re not as interested in the world-building but stick with it!!

The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of itself. It is not the means to an end.

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

I dont think anything could have prepared me for this. Already mentioned how amazing the world-building of the House is, especially for me the hall Piranesi (for lack of a better name for him) travels to for the Other with the huge door revealing the moon and the hundreds of statues reaching out towards it from the dark - all very evocative. 

Another thing i loved was the ending, specifically how the almost split personalities of Piranesi and Matthew Rose Sorensen end up as just two aspects in a new personality that Piranesi (again, for lack or a better way to refer to him) takes on when returning to the old world. I feel like it would not have suited either side of his character to keep Piranesi dominant in the mind or to have Matthew come back in full, so i love that it was kept “split” (though not really as both are now part of a new whole)

I wish i was in a place where i could analyse the more philosophical parts of this book, but for now the two excerpts i quoted at the start really hit me. I have so many thoughts but i cant find worlds that really convey them in the way i mean without sounding like i'm rambling. But especially the relationship between those two passages that i immediately think of is this: we are all reflections of the House (our world) and it, like everyone, should be treated with the same endless love, empathy, care, and respect that Piranesi shows the statues and the dead and the House as a whole. 

Other notes: wish i could have known Raphael for longer, she seemed like such a nice person. The journals used as a device to exposit about the events from the old world was really interesting. Unfortunately(? maybe not unfortunate, not sure) i did see most of the reveals coming from way off, though they were still enjoyable and the twist that Piranesi was actually trapped by the Other (like how James Ritter was trapped by Arne-Sayles) was not what i was expecting, even if i never really did trust the Other at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Slavery, Vomit, Murder, Child death, Kidnapping, Suicide, and Death