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mohana's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The book was great until the homophobia left me feeling weird.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
cherryboo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
1.75
I'll preface my review with this; I had heard so many good things about the book, and so I went into it optimistically.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous, and I only finished it to read more of the lovely prose.
However, a fair warning to everyone ahead of time, this book, through the lens of Christianity, supports so so many problematic beliefs that make it so I would struggle to recommend this book to someone else.
Susanna unacceptably vilifies gay men, and explicitly writes that being gay is and was a choice, with the main conflict within the story being about how said "villainous" gay man kidnapped young men to abuse them for his experiments which is a disgusting trope that has time and time again been proven to be an exaggerated claim used for scaremongering tactics.
In addition, Clarke uses the aesthetics of Greco-Roman culture which is revered within the West but inserts heavy-handed unabashed support of Christian themes in order to conflate their relationship. This not only creates additional justification for Christianity's beliefs by elevating it to the status of reverence that is held for the former, but also erases the fact that the Romans were actually extremely opposed to Christianity.
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I'm not saying that this book is inherently or objectively bad; it's actually still really really good which is why I finished it. But I believe that denying the fact that there are problematic elements to the book would be extremely ignorant as well.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous, and I only finished it to read more of the lovely prose.
However, a fair warning to everyone ahead of time, this book, through the lens of Christianity, supports so so many problematic beliefs that make it so I would struggle to recommend this book to someone else.
Susanna unacceptably vilifies gay men, and explicitly writes that being gay is and was a choice, with the main conflict within the story being about how said "villainous" gay man kidnapped young men to abuse them for his experiments which is a disgusting trope that has time and time again been proven to be an exaggerated claim used for scaremongering tactics.
In addition, Clarke uses the aesthetics of Greco-Roman culture which is revered within the West but inserts heavy-handed unabashed support of Christian themes in order to conflate their relationship. This not only creates additional justification for Christianity's beliefs by elevating it to the status of reverence that is held for the former, but also erases the fact that the Romans were actually extremely opposed to Christianity.
------
I'm not saying that this book is inherently or objectively bad; it's actually still really really good which is why I finished it. But I believe that denying the fact that there are problematic elements to the book would be extremely ignorant as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Fatphobia
pnwbibliophile's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
3.0
Overall, I thought the writing was beautiful, literary, and reflective. The setting was how I imagine being in a classical statued labryrith where the atmosphere is suffused with the beauty and otherworldliness of Enya’s music (vibe-wise, not music literally playing in the halls) yet the plot and perils end up feeling a bit like the dark academia of The Secret History. Then add in that feeling you got watching 90s screensavers panning through endless halls. That is the essence of this novel.
What I absolutely loved was the introspection of the main character that felt profound even though he was considering such basic themes as trust, betrayal, identity, and personal change. Good storytelling elevates these universal themes and makes them seem like something new you’ve never heard before even though you have.
This would have been more enjoyable had the author not chosen to add in casual homophobia by making the only two gay men in the book problematic. One is portrayed as the “gay predator villain” stereotype and the second described as “a prostitute” and having “prolonged periods of mental illness,” biplar disorder, and also that the people who knew him were “drug addicts.” This was published in 2020 so it’s rather hard for me to make excuses for the author and Bloomsbury letting this slip through. Were there no sensitivity readers for this? At a certain point in history we have to stop giving passes on this sort of thing. We passed that time a good 15 years ago.
Why am I so sensitive to this? Because gay men were exclusively portrayed in this light (as villains, as degenerates, as partaking in all manner of vice, or as deceitful) in media until censorship laws changed in the mid 1900s. LGBTQ+ people weren’t allowed to be portrayed in a good light or have happy endings because of the “morals” of the time. That is why I take it so seriously. It reads as if the author’s telling us this is exclusively how she sees gay men or at the minimum, she doesnt find this portrayal offensive. Veiled homophobia is still homophobia. Without the homophobia, this would have been a 4/5 star read. The homophobia brought it down to a 3/5.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia
violerwolf's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? No
5.0
Susanna Clarke asks the bold question: what if “The Backrooms” wasn’t a boring horror gimmick?
Intriguing mysteries, deep symbolism and philosophical reflection, and a riveting but small cast of characters make this book impossible to put down. I can’t wait to reread it.
Intriguing mysteries, deep symbolism and philosophical reflection, and a riveting but small cast of characters make this book impossible to put down. I can’t wait to reread it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Death, and Confinement
Minor: Child death, Homophobia, Cursing, and Vomit
Somewhat spoilers, kept as vague as possible:mobymaize's review against another edition
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.
Holy fuck this book rocks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Stalking, Kidnapping, Child death, Death, Confinement, Torture, Bullying, Cursing, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia
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!
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!queenie_ofthe_void's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
3.5
The mystery was intense and it had me hooked start to finish. I loved Piranesi as a character, as tragic as he was. It brushed right up against the myth of the Labyrinth, but it wasn't so overt that it felt redundant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Dementia, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Slavery, Confinement, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Homophobia, Murder, Rape, Death, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
miss_vonnegut's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I mostly loved this book. I love that it almost feels as if you're meandering through the House with the main character for a lot of it. It almost feels healing. In fact, if not for one thing, I would have given it five stars. The one thing I didn't like though is a pretty big one for me. It's that the one character who is clearly given a sexuality (a gay man) is portrayed as malevolent and predatory. I don't think we're at a point in time/history where that can be done without other LGBTQIA+ characters in the same book who are not villainous. I'm still glad I read it for everything else that was in it, but I think it's an important thing to note and be aware of when reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Kidnapping
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Murder
abrasieve's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Homophobia
jakobvongunten's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia and Fatphobia