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A review by jayseejewel
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
5.0
9/10 A thoroughly enjoyable book with a delightful POV and plenty of mystery. It reminded me of The Magician's Nephew (CS Lewis) and while it took a few pages to get hooked, I couldn't put this down once I was. Be warned that it is odd, though, and reminiscent of slightly older books (like Narnia, LOTR, etc.)
What I enjoyed:
- The main character. His POV was the best part. I love an unreliable narrator and his innocent, almost childish manner of speaking had me laughing out loud at times. He was so adorable and it's very rare for me to love an MC so this is saying a lot.
- The setting. It has an interesting history, lots of detail, and plenty of mystery. I would often get disoriented when they described the halls and such but kind of accepted that it was part of the world anyway so it didn't matter.
- The conflict. The build-up to the mystery was great, starting slow but letting us know from the get-go that things are off. I predicted the twist, of course, but in this case I think you were supposed to figure it out before the MC and I didn't mind that he didn't realize fast enough (because he is slowly going insane, after all).
- The length. I love a book that isn't afraid to tell it's story, then leave.
What I didn't enjoy/needed work:
- The ending felt a little dragged out. After the climax and conclusion, it continued on with later scenes that weren't bad but I felt some weren't completely necessary. This isn't a major issue, though.
Overall, I really loved this book and recommend it to any fantasy fans who like things that are a little odd (like books 1 and 3 of Narnia, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, etc.). It's also a quick read so you don't have to dedicate to it. I'm really glad I finally gave this book a shot.
What I enjoyed:
- The main character. His POV was the best part. I love an unreliable narrator and his innocent, almost childish manner of speaking had me laughing out loud at times. He was so adorable and it's very rare for me to love an MC so this is saying a lot.
- The setting. It has an interesting history, lots of detail, and plenty of mystery. I would often get disoriented when they described the halls and such but kind of accepted that it was part of the world anyway so it didn't matter.
- The conflict. The build-up to the mystery was great, starting slow but letting us know from the get-go that things are off. I predicted the twist, of course, but in this case I think you were supposed to figure it out before the MC and I didn't mind that he didn't realize fast enough (because he is slowly going insane, after all).
- The length. I love a book that isn't afraid to tell it's story, then leave.
What I didn't enjoy/needed work:
- The ending felt a little dragged out. After the climax and conclusion, it continued on with later scenes that weren't bad but I felt some weren't completely necessary. This isn't a major issue, though.
Overall, I really loved this book and recommend it to any fantasy fans who like things that are a little odd (like books 1 and 3 of Narnia, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, etc.). It's also a quick read so you don't have to dedicate to it. I'm really glad I finally gave this book a shot.