A review by franalibi
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My first thoughts when starting this book was: “This isn’t as mythological as it sounds, is this just a strange alternative universe”. The reason I say this is that when Piranesi explains his diary, it starts with the years 2011 and 2012, and then turn into years like: “Tenth Day of the Seventh Month in the Year I discovered the Coral Halls, to the Ninth Day of the Fourth Month in the Year I named the Constellations.”

And oh my gosh, the revelation I had after the above paragraph as I read this book. If I say anymore, I’ll reveal major spoilers because if you read this for yourself I want you to be as shocked as I was.

During the novel, Clarke paints a detailed picture of The House with a lot of capital letters in sentences when describing scenes. It makes you feel like you are in The House with Piranesi and experiencing the Tides and Halls together with beautiful statues staring down at you.

The main theme of this novel is transgression. Transgression for every single character in this novel. Good and bad.

After reading my favourite book from Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, I expected big things from Piranesi. No pun intended, but this is worlds away from JS&MN... That isn’t to say I didn’t love this one. It’s just as magical and unique - and so beautifully written!