Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Piranesi

A friend’s advice that was absolutely true: the book starts with a TON of detail which makes you think you have to remember every little thing, but that’s not why the details are there. The overuse of details are a characteristic of the main character and not important to the story - it tells you the type of person he is. If it’s important, he will repeat it multiple times. The “why” will make sense in the long run.

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fraxisle's review against another edition

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dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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blitzstone001's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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englishrobin210's review against another edition

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fast-paced

2.75

Interesting little book (esp the beginning!), but once the mystery starting unraveling I lost a bit of interest in the second half. Very atmospheric and loved Piranesi as a main character. The House was fascinating and I wish would could have spent more time with the labyrinth and the statues. Something that irked me was

when Arne-Sayles was revealed to be a predatory gay man. Frankly, an unnecessary detail for the story and put a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book.

If you liked this concept but prefer more thoughtful portrayals of queer characters and more time spent on worldbuilding, I recommend The Starless Sea.

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the_annia's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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merin_aran's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Many words spring to mind after reading this book! It is so incredibly unique and unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s truly breath-taking, beautiful, fantastical, eloquent, thought-provoking, rich and surreal...the list could go on, but none seem to really sum up my thoughts or do justice to this incredible book. It was so gripping; I devoured the book in a day because I so desperately wanted to see how the puzzle and mystery unfolded. In this sense it felt fast paced, but it was also slow and meditative; I felt so calm and at peace walking the halls with Piranesi. The mind-bending ideas and themes presented has given me so much food for thought and I adore the numerous allegories and questions that it has left me still pondering about. This truly is a masterpiece and deserves all the praise it gets. I will end this review with my favourite extract, a truly revelationary moment for me:

“I realised that the search for the Knowledge has encouraged us to think of the House as if it were a sort of riddle to be unravelled, a text to be interpreted, and that if ever we discover the Knowledge, then it will be as if the Value has been wrested from the House and all that remains will be mere scenery....The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.”

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megansreads's review against another edition

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inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Wow, this was one of my favorite reads of all time. I jumped into Piranesi without really looking into the plot and I'm glad I did. I think not knowing anything about how things would unfold really helped add to the mystery as it plays out. I had tears in my eyes for the last few chapters. I am not typically a huge fan of fantasy, but this one felt like the exception to the rule. The slight nods to C.S. Lewis' work were great and really helped to set the scene for what was being foreshadowed.

I always like my English and literature classes best when I was in school, and this is the first book I've read in a long time that had me looking for symbolism and analyzing each chapter once I had finished. This felt like a modern classic in every sense.

The addition of a dark academia element really helped knock this one out of the park for me. I've been very into the genre, having read The Secret History, If We Were Villains, and The Maidens, it gave such a wonderful spin to an already delightful and whimsical fantasy. I know I saw a few reviews that felt things seemed a bit unresolved at the end, but I think it added to the melancholic aspect of Piranesi's three selves.

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