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A review by katiegilley
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
4.0
“Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.”
This was shortlisted for The 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction and it’s a strange little book. Piranesi is living in an infinite House in which tides flood the corridors, there are rooms full of statues and art, and he makes his own clothes from seaweed found throughout. He is a scientist and explorer of this world and keeps detailed and excellent notebooks to share with the Other – the only other person alive in the House. One day he meets a person who should not exist and his whole life is turned on its head.
The twist of the story is obvious fairly early on, but I don’t think it ruined the book. Instead, it ushered in a mystery and puzzle that I was trying to unlock. It had such a thoughtful message: how we can all be led to believe something absurd despite how smart we think we are. I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 because the story could have benefited from a little more explanation about the house Piranesi explored, which felt unresolved to me (but maybe it was supposed to? Either way, I needed more!).
This was shortlisted for The 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction and it’s a strange little book. Piranesi is living in an infinite House in which tides flood the corridors, there are rooms full of statues and art, and he makes his own clothes from seaweed found throughout. He is a scientist and explorer of this world and keeps detailed and excellent notebooks to share with the Other – the only other person alive in the House. One day he meets a person who should not exist and his whole life is turned on its head.
The twist of the story is obvious fairly early on, but I don’t think it ruined the book. Instead, it ushered in a mystery and puzzle that I was trying to unlock. It had such a thoughtful message: how we can all be led to believe something absurd despite how smart we think we are. I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 because the story could have benefited from a little more explanation about the house Piranesi explored, which felt unresolved to me (but maybe it was supposed to? Either way, I needed more!).