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leduyhxxng's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
The writings and narrative voice in <i>Piranesi</i> put you in a particular state of mind, one that feels religious and melancholic. Yet it does not overdo anything to the effect. If I could smash a book, this is it. Everything about this piece of literature is perfect—I rest my case.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Slavery, Dementia, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gun violence and Vomit
Minor: Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
atlas_oliver's review
challenging
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
nickel_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Slavery, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Blood, Vomit, and Murder
k_aro's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Honestly, on some level I feel a little guilty giving this so languidly a 5-star review; it's not really the kind of book that exists for stars or whatever, but I still feel like it'd be a loss to not talk about it as such.
What an incredible book! I love slow explorations of a space, and this felt so widely built (even though there's still so much left unsaid and basically left up to interpretation) that it felt fulfilling even if not all the answers were stated. I guess it kind of reminds me of that encyclopedia full of stuff that doesn't exist that's supposed to replicate the feeling of looking through an encyclopedia as a kid for the first time.
The tension is also nicely built, and it doesn't really concern itself with three-way twists and distracting flashes, just a really nice story that follows through in its soft magic systems on what it talks about.
I also enjoyed the occasional flashes of second-person narration; that said, I'm kind of just in love with second-person narration as a device, so I'm super biased in this regard.
While I'm a little unsatisfied by the unspecificity of why Ketterley did what he did, I think to some level that's not "the point" (so to speak)—he's so obsessed with something that is functionally dead that rationality is truly, on some level, false.
Anyway, I'd also like to take a little bit to talk about the lovely meditation on death and obsessions with death, not just in regards to dead people but to dead ideas, concepts, language, etc. So much of our life is living, breathing, that when something dies it inevitably takes up space; but as Ketterley demonstrates, this obsession with death is actually something quite grotesque, demanding answers out of something that has already departed this world.
Of course, that's neither here nor there; Arne-Sayles is also pretty interesting in his own right, though I'm not really sure I like how his gayness is positioned as just part of him being transgressive, but I also think I like it? I don't know, I guess it kind of evokes questions about the transgressiveness of being queer in general, or maybe transgressiveness as a whole (maybe even hearkening back to that one Carmen Maria Machado essay about being queer and fat). He's definitely an interesting character!
What an incredible book! I love slow explorations of a space, and this felt so widely built (even though there's still so much left unsaid and basically left up to interpretation) that it felt fulfilling even if not all the answers were stated. I guess it kind of reminds me of that encyclopedia full of stuff that doesn't exist that's supposed to replicate the feeling of looking through an encyclopedia as a kid for the first time.
The tension is also nicely built, and it doesn't really concern itself with three-way twists and distracting flashes, just a really nice story that follows through in its soft magic systems on what it talks about.
I also enjoyed the occasional flashes of second-person narration; that said, I'm kind of just in love with second-person narration as a device, so I'm super biased in this regard.
Anyway, I'd also like to take a little bit to talk about the lovely meditation on death and obsessions with death, not just in regards to dead people but to dead ideas, concepts, language, etc. So much of our life is living, breathing, that when something dies it inevitably takes up space; but as Ketterley demonstrates, this obsession with death is actually something quite grotesque, demanding answers out of something that has already departed this world.
Of course, that's neither here nor there; Arne-Sayles is also pretty interesting in his own right, though I'm not really sure I like how his gayness is positioned as just part of him being transgressive, but I also think I like it? I don't know, I guess it kind of evokes questions about the transgressiveness of being queer in general, or maybe transgressiveness as a whole (maybe even hearkening back to that one Carmen Maria Machado essay about being queer and fat). He's definitely an interesting character!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Gun violence, and Vomit
While these look like a lot of intense content warnings, I will say that usually most of the things written above are not processed, written about, extrapolated on as abuse in itself (so to speak). The experience of the main character, while I do not want to invalidate as the things shown above, are not processed as such, partially owing to the fact that the main character does not quite process emotions or traumas in the same way you or I would; so rather than them being fact in and of themself, they are the textual reading extrapolated.woweewhoa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Read this as my first book of 2022 and was really surprised. Its a story about a House that is Alive and Haunted(by the same thing that make it Alive). It is doing things with motives so far away from our own perception of things, that its a character in its own right.
This book is written Very well and the way it unweaves the mystery is expertly done revealing things to both the reader and our Protagonist at different times which got be really excited and at the edge of my seat to read more.
Its a short read, and after it establishes itself in the first/part of the second part, it goes for the races. I paced myself through this book through the past week, and that felt like a good course of action. The ending of each part kinda felt like the ending on a tv show.
This kinda got away from me, but if you want to read a story thought a limited first person view about A Place that is Alive, people trying to interact with that place in so many different ways, that ends up with a very interesting view of how identity exists and is formed, I Definitely recommend this book. Glad I started the new year with it :^)
This book is written Very well and the way it unweaves the mystery is expertly done revealing things to both the reader and our Protagonist at different times which got be really excited and at the edge of my seat to read more.
Its a short read, and after it establishes itself in the first/part of the second part, it goes for the races. I paced myself through this book through the past week, and that felt like a good course of action. The ending of each part kinda felt like the ending on a tv show.
This kinda got away from me, but if you want to read a story thought a limited first person view about A Place that is Alive, people trying to interact with that place in so many different ways, that ends up with a very interesting view of how identity exists and is formed, I Definitely recommend this book. Glad I started the new year with it :^)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Suicide, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
octopus_farmer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
It was a novel about place more than anything else, and I see how its descriptions capture the imagination of everyone. It reminded me a bit of the Zoom the Cat’s picture books, in the mix of architecture and nature. I liked the plot fine but it was the character and place i liked most. I wish to know more about Raphael.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement and Dementia
Minor: Violence and Vomit
marisa_n's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
Minor: Death
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? Yes
5.0
I’ve always said that I like happy endings, and happy stories in general, but that’s not it exactly. Rather, I like my stories hopeful—if the overall message is about how sad and pointless life is, I absolutely do not want it. The premise of Piranesi is pretty bleak, and I would argue that it fits firmly in the category of dark academia, but Piranesi is one of the most stunningly kind and hopeful characters I have ever had the pleasure to read about.
This book is pretty light on action and heavy on description, which I loved and felt that it built the tension really well. I’ve always liked stories where the setting becomes one of the characters, and the House was such a beautiful example of this. I loved Piranesi’s relationship with the House and with nature in general. He believes so firmly that he is loved and will be taken care of by them.
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe): Bittersweet. With a story like this, there could be no truly happy ending, but this ending was about as good as it could get.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
anger566's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence and Abandonment
Minor: Death and Vomit
rieviolet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.0
I think what I liked the most was Piranesi himself as a narrator, how we slowly discover the house and the story connnected to it from his point of view.
It is a very imaginative story and certainly very unique, I was really captured by the first half and I still enjoyed the second one, but I think that as the plot progressed and we discovered the darker aspects of it, some of the initial brillance got lost, at least for me. It was still a very enjoyable read that I had trouble putting down (a good half of it I read in just one sitting) and a very well crafted story.
I also had some personal quibbles over the treatment of certain topics (mailny the only depiction of queerness and also a quite fatphobic description at the very end of the story that really annoyed me) that dimmed my general enjoyment of the book.
It is a very imaginative story and certainly very unique, I was really captured by the first half and I still enjoyed the second one, but I think that as the plot progressed and we discovered the darker aspects of it, some of the initial brillance got lost, at least for me. It was still a very enjoyable read that I had trouble putting down (a good half of it I read in just one sitting) and a very well crafted story.
I also had some personal quibbles over the treatment of certain topics (mailny the only depiction of queerness and also a quite fatphobic description at the very end of the story that really annoyed me) that dimmed my general enjoyment of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury