A review by house_of_hannah
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

adventurous dark 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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I'm having a hard time determining a rating for this book. I think in the end it's a high 3, low 4. My expectations were so vastly different than what the story actually ended up being. I have seen this recommended countless times to people who loved the book House of Leaves, but the only similarity is that it takes place in an unusual house.

From the description of the book I also thought that Piranesi was going to be a lot more alone. I really wasn't expecting much more in a cast of characters, so that kinda put me off a bit. The <i>type</i> of story this morphed into just wasn't what I was looking for at this time, so I felt myself losing interest the longer I read. 

I honestly don't have many thoughts on this one in the end. I found the beginning to be much more interesting than the later half. Piranesi is a fabulous character, and I could listen to him talk about the House forever. Unfortunately, my expectations really let me down here, and got in the way of my potential enjoyment of the book. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings