A review by pnwbibliophile
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

Overall, I thought the writing was beautiful, literary, and reflective. The setting was how I imagine being in a classical statued labryrith where the atmosphere is suffused with the beauty and otherworldliness of Enya’s music (vibe-wise, not music literally playing in the halls) yet the plot and perils end up feeling a bit like the dark academia of The Secret History. Then add in that feeling you got watching 90s screensavers panning through endless halls. That is the essence of this novel.

What I absolutely loved was the introspection of the main character that felt profound even though he was considering such basic themes as  trust, betrayal, identity, and personal change. Good storytelling elevates these universal themes and makes them seem like something new you’ve never heard before even though you have.

This would have been more enjoyable had the author not chosen to add in casual homophobia by making the only two gay men in the book problematic. One is portrayed as the “gay predator villain” stereotype and the second described as “a prostitute” and having “prolonged periods of mental illness,” biplar disorder, and also that the people who knew him were “drug addicts.” This was published in 2020 so it’s rather hard for me to make excuses for the author and Bloomsbury letting this slip through. Were there no sensitivity readers for this? At a certain point in history we have to stop giving passes on this sort of thing. We passed that time a good 15 years ago.

Why am I so sensitive to this? Because gay men were exclusively portrayed in this light (as villains, as degenerates, as partaking in all manner of vice, or as deceitful) in media until censorship laws changed in the mid 1900s. LGBTQ+ people weren’t allowed to be portrayed in a good light or have happy endings because of the “morals” of the time. That is why I take it so seriously. It reads as if the author’s telling us this is exclusively how she sees gay men or at the minimum, she doesnt find this portrayal offensive. Veiled homophobia is still homophobia. Without the homophobia, this would have been a 4/5 star read. The homophobia brought it down to a 3/5.
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