Reviews with content warning for Murder - Piranesi

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Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

155 reviews

krispym's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

This book will either be an amazing reread or not work at all. I can’t imagine ever recapturing the feelings I had while listening to it for the first time.

Would be 5/5 if not for

feeling a bit let down at the end. The tension of the whole book seemed to unravel rather anticlimactically at the end.

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bi_n_large's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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ebp's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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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becca_w_'s review

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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? N/A

4.75

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webtheweeb's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

This book is one of the strangest and coolest things I’ve ever read. It’s Flowers for Algernon meets Planet of the Apes meets The Secret History meets 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s maddening and profound and inscrutable and relatable and human and so, so not. It is a feat.

I’m kind of astonished by this book. It starts off so, so huge and completely incomprehensible - like the character “writing” it, you need to make massive leaps and grasp onto the smallest glimpses of sanity to maintain your footing - but Clarke leaves a trail of hints that not all is as it seems so intriguing that I couldn’t bear to put it down. I HAD to know what was really going on here. And by the end of the book, in a way that I think so few other pieces of media have done, the frame is SMALLER than at the start, more manageable and explained and easier for my little mind to comprehend. BUT THEN??? THAT LAST PAGE???? Just completely explodes that and undoes it in the best, best way. The middle place is still connected to our world, leaking statues of people as they are??? As they will be??? Where is the place beyond, and what does it mean? We don’t need to know, but the shape of this book is immense and ingenious.

My only reservation is with the main character - does Clarke as a white woman have a right to tell his story? I also wonder about her intertwining of Laurence’s sexuality and his violence, which was not provided any kind of representational foil or anything to offset that association.

Overall, this book, like Octavia Butler’s, did something to my brain I don’t think I’ll easily forget. In my experience, it is totally original and so, so interesting. I feel like I’d need to read it a thousand times over to begin to understand most of what’s in there, and I’d do so gladly. 5/5

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oughterard87's review

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A haunting and enchanting story that left me feeling as though I had wandered the echoing lonely halls along with Piranesi. I found the character very likable and their flaws bearing good intensions. The plot was not earthshattering, but the setting and drive of the book was new and refreshing. The imagination and creativity of the author truly shown. The end (no spoilers ahead) was truly grounding and a satisfying conclusion. I usually read more action driven stories, but this quiet and desperate tale had me engrossed until the final page.

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caroisreading's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

I was craving something as unique as this. I normally don't gravitate toward the magical realism genre, but this book was a combination of mystery, suspense and fantasy that made for such a rewarding read.

We are taken through events via the protagonist's journal entries, and only know as much as he knows about the enormous house he's in, with occasionally dangerous waves of sea water and rainfall. There are moments where you can start to guess what is actually going on, and it all leads to a suspenseful unraveling.

I think there is a deeper narrative about appreciating our earth and what it gives us, appreciating our life and those around us, those we have lost, even those we've never met.

Susanna's writing is so rich, yet easy to follow, just so artful. There are even moments where a tone / writing style change is necessary and it helps you appreciate the mastery of her writing.

You'll love this if you are into magical realism, a bit of mystery, mystical practice, and unusual stories.

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